Flight or Fight
by NarnianMelody
Summary: There are always two options to choose between in times of confusion and despair. And for Jess and Leslie, the decision is continuously difficult to make – especially as their magical kingdom slowly sinks toward destruction.
1. Chapter 1

**So I've held on to this for a long while; I've been trying to figure out a plot line that will be somewhat interesting to you readers. I think I have a semi-interesting one that might appeal to some of you :D and I don't think it's something that's been done before, so hopefully you'll all like it. (And by the way, for those of you who are reading _So Changed_, I am still writing it along with this fanfic.)**

**These characters do not belong to me – they belong to their incredible author Katherine Paterson – though I do own the plot line ;) Please read and _please_ review if you want more (remember anonymous reviewers are accepted).**

**Thank you and enjoy!**

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"Will you stop _doing_ that?" Leslie asked him for the hundredth time. "You're making me feel guilty." 

Jess looked up again and sighed. His best friend was staring at him in weariness. "I just want a picture of you I can look at this summer," he said as he put down his pencil and drawing book. "Then I can compare you when you're back."

"Now you're making me feel worse." Leslie zipped up another suitcase and laid it on the floor next to her desk. "Can't you just be normal and say, 'Have a great time at Niagara Falls, Leslie; I'll see you when you get back!'?"

"Have a great time in Niagara Falls, Leslie; I'll see you when you get back."

"Oh, you just sound _so_ enthusiastic," Leslie said, rolling her eyes. "God. At least put some _effort_ into it."

"I'm going to rot here this summer," Jess said miserably. "I'll be so bored I'll sit in front of the TV all day long like Brenda and Ellie and lose all my brain cells."

A flicker of amusement flashed in Leslie's eyes and her lips twitched upwards for a second. "King Jess," she said in a mock serious tone, "promise that thee shalt do no such thing."

"Methinks that thou art lady should—shalt…er—" He had been a king in Terabithia for six years and he still couldn't speak in a royal tone. "Well, I think you should trust that I'll only watch, maybe…twelve hours a day?"

Leslie threw her pillow at him. Laughing, Jess asked sarcastically, "Ten? Seven? Two?"

"How about you watch our subjects instead?" Leslie said, smiling. "That way you and PT could tell me about something _interesting_ when I'm back."

"Sounds like a plan."

OOO

The next morning when the Burkes were packing up their car Jess and Leslie sat on the porch, watching uneasily, counting down the minutes when they would have to part. PT lay between them, tongue lolling and sides heaving because of the heat. Leslie stroked his head absentmindedly.

"Are you allowed to scoop water out of the river?" Jess asked.

"Probably not."

"Promise you'll try and bring me back some," Jess begged her. "We could put it in the castle. As a memoral, or whatever, of one of the greatest waterfalls ever."

Leslie grinned. "A memorial?"

"Yeah, that."

"I think it's illegal to scoop water out of Niagara Falls, Jess."

"Try to."

"Okay."

"And wherever else you're going after that…think about the Terabithians."

"And you?"

"That would be nice, too."

Then they were silent. Judy Burke was holding down a suitcase on top of the roof while Bill tied it firmly.

"It's for six weeks," Leslie said quietly after a while. "A month and a half."

"That's an awful long time."

"I know."

Jess sighed and picked up his sketchbook that lay beside him. Leslie groaned when she saw it but she sat still without a word so he could finish drawing her.

"Do you have a message you would like me to give to the Terabithians, your majesty?" Jess asked as he drew.

Leslie blew a piece of her hair out of her mouth. "Notify our subjects," she said in her queen voice, "that though I shall be departed for a colossal quantity of time I shall not disregard them and will be exultant to see them at my homecoming."

"In English, please?"

"Oh, Jess," Leslie laughed at him, turning to look at him with affection in her eyes. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Jess couldn't say anything. He dated his picture and turned it around so Leslie could see it. She smiled as her gaze fell upon it.

"You never cease to amaze me, Jess," she told him softly.

Jess gazed at her then at his picture again. He shrugged, swallowing back a lump in his throat hastily.

The car door slammed and Bill leaned against the car in exhaustion while Judy fanned herself with her hand. "Five minutes, Leslie, and we'll hit the road!" she called out.

Leslie and Jess stood up. PT followed their lead and, stretching, walked down to the steps to Bill and Judy.

"You sure he'll be all right at your house?" Leslie said as they watched Bill and Judy pat PT goodbye.

"Yeah, the little kids will like having his company." It was getting harder for Jess to speak. Leslie, as though sensing this, turned to him and smiled encouragingly, though her eyes were filled with sympathy and sadness. Jess tried to smile back.

"Have fun," he said, trying to sound as though he was happy she was leaving him for so long.

Leslie stood there a second longer, then she quickly stepped forward and hugged him; Jess wrapped his arms around her in return and told himself he was never letting go.

"We'll see each other in six weeks, in Terabithia," she whispered in his ear.

"I'll tell the subjects to start preparing," Jess said, leaning his cheek against hers. "We'll clean the castle and decorate the fortress. You'll love it."

"Yeah." Leslie hugged him tighter and Jess felt his sadness multiply. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Leslie. Don't worry about me—have fun, okay? And don't forget the water."

"Okay, your majesty," Leslie said, pulling back from him and flicking him on the forehead with her forefinger. "But I'm going to worry about you."

"I'll be fine."

"You ready, honey?" Bill called from the car. He and Judy were in it and pulling on their seatbelts; PT was sniffing at the tires.

Leslie and Jess walked slowly to the car. As they approached Bill said, "Thanks again, Jess, for taking PT off our hands for us."

"Wha—? Oh…no problem," Jess said. Leslie held onto his arm rather then getting in the car.

"Think you two can survive without being in sight of each other for six weeks?" Judy teased them, not knowing how powerful her words were. Neither of them said anything.

"Well," Bill said after a moment or two, "I hate to have to break you guys up here, but…"

Leslie nodded and opened the car door. Jess held it back for her so she could get in.

"Take care this summer, okay, Jess?" Judy said as Jess shut the door. Leslie rolled down her window.

"Okay. You, too."

"Do you want anything from the gift shops they have at the Falls?" Bill asked. "They have postcards, books..."

"That's okay. Leslie's going to try and bring me back some water," Jess said, smiling a little bit. Leslie gazed at him with sparkling eyes. "Have fun."

"Thanks, Jess," Bill said, smiling back. "Have fun here."

"I'll try," Jess said, laughing. He picked up PT and held him to Leslie as Bill started the car. Leslie kissed the dog on top of the head, and when Jess put him down, she kissed Jess on the top of his head, too.

"Don't rot here this summer, Jess," she said to him.

Jess smiled reassuringly. "I won't."

"Take care of them," Leslie said, deliberately saying "them" rather then "Terabithians" because Bill and Judy were there. "And yourself. And don't you _dare_ lose all your brain cells," she added, smiling up at him.

"Will do, your majesty," Jess told her, grinning in return. He picked up PT again and stepped back as the car started rolling; Leslie turned around and waved out the window.

"'Bye," Jess said as the car disappeared around the bend. It occurred to him as he set PT down and a breeze ruffled through his hair that Leslie could no longer hear him.

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**So this is a really lame start, I know. :D I'll be getting into the action soon.**

**Please review! I appreciate the reviews so much. **


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll talk to you faithful readers of mine at the end of this.**

**Enjoy!**

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Jess could remember the very day he and Leslie had met. As he sat on the Burke's steps with PT lying at his side, gazing after the Burke's car, he remembered the day nearly six years ago when she had walked into Mrs. Myers's classroom with her confident smile, strong and friendly even then. And he had turned away from her those first few weeks, upset about a stupid race. _How_ had he done that?

Yet Leslie had won Jess over time; not long after that Terabithia had been born. Even now, when they were sixteen, it still existed. It was still their own private world they could roam in when they needed it, it was still a place where they were the king and queen and there was nothing that could ever really defeat them – except for when they were apart.

"Gonna miss your girlfriend, Jess?" Brenda snickered at him when he walked through the door to his house unhappily half an hour later. "I bet you're going to miss her _so_ much…what _will_ you do all summer?"

"It's not like she's gone forever," Jess snapped at her. PT sniffed the carpet.

"Oh, but it will sure feel like forever," Brenda said sweetly. Ellie snickered from the kitchen table. "I bet you two have lots of fun together…going off alone all the time—"

"Shut up." Jess was in no mood to defend himself and Leslie from his older sister. He headed for the stairs with PT at his heals. Brenda rolled her eyes from the kitchen counter while Ellie shouted after him.

"What is it you do with her, Jess? I _know_ you're too old for little kids games now…or are you?"

Jess heard Brenda laugh. "Or is what you do together _private_?"

"Oh, look at him, Brenda, he's so sad his girlfriend's gone…he's not even speaking to us—"

"Shut up!" Jess was flying up the stairs now, two at a time. PT padded after him as he heard Ellie and Brenda laugh hysterically in the kitchen.

_Stupid girls_, he thought miserably as he slammed the door to his room shut. _In Terabithia I would have­_—

He stopped. Thinking of Terabithia made him think of Leslie, and thinking of Leslie right now made his heart seem to drop down inside of him, so he grabbed his sketchbook and flipped through it, sinking onto his bed.

Of course all his sketches were of Terabithia. And the very last one, completed that very morning, was of Leslie. Her eyes sparkled and she had a half grin on her face—she was beautiful as ever; it didn't matter whether he looked at her in real life or in a sketch, though he did prefer her in real life. He ripped the picture out of his book and taped it to his wall.

_Don't rot here this summer, Jess…_

_I_ _won't_, Jess told himself firmly as he gazed at the picture. _I'll try_.

OOO

That night at dinner as the family sat at the table, Jess ate in silence while his elder sisters complained to their mother about summer clothes.

"It's not _fair_," Brenda was saying. "Mom, Allison got six summer dresses and three pairs of shoes yesterday. _And_ new blouses and a skirt."

"Everyone else is better dressed then we are," Ellie added on. "I feel _poor_ when I'm with my friends. How come we don't get new clothes?"

"Your father and I bought you both some blouses last week," their mother said wearily while Mr. Aarons ate his potatoes, clearly not interested in summer clothes.

"But what about shoes? Skirts? Dresses? And Allison got a really pretty necklace that has a heart at the end of it."

"Well, why don't you girls go get a job, and you can make your own money so you can buy pretty necklaces with hearts at the end of them," Mrs. Aarons said, eyes narrowed. "Brenda, you're going into your second year of college, and Ellie, it'll be your first. You two commute, so why can't you get a part time job during the school year?"

"Allison—"

"I don't want to hear another word about Allison," Jack said suddenly, fed up. "You girls are old enough to earn your own money; we're kind enough to let you stay under this roof when you should be living in apartments by your school. And I don't hear May Belle or Joyce Ann complaining about clothes."

"Well, they get all our hand-me-downs," Ellie said. "We don't get anything. Why should _they_ complain?"

"May Belle just turned twelve," Brenda said. "And Joyce Ann is eight. I doubt they're old enough to care about clothes."

"I'm old enough!" Joyce Ann said in irritation. If anyone mentioned that she was too young for anything she hit the roof.

"Not old enough to need clothes like we do," Ellie sniffed.

"That's not true!" snapped May Belle.

"Knock it off, _now_," Mrs. Aarons growled. "All of you. Can't you just be like Jess and eat dinner _quietly_?"

"He's moping," Brenda said at once, before Jess could speak. "His girlfriend's gone away."

Jess looked up and glared at his sister. "Let it go, Brenda."

"He'll be sulking all summer if you don't do something, Mom—"

"Be quiet, Ellie," Jack said as he looked up, interested now. "Leslie's gone, Jess?"

"Yeah," Jess muttered to his plate. "She went to Niagara Falls with her parents."

"Niagara falls…" Jack said thoughtfully. "I've always wanted to go there…."

"Is that why PT's in our room?" May Belle asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh. Thought I heard that dog," Jack said. Jess looked at his father somewhat nervously.

"It's okay that he's here, right? I mean, he'll be outside most of the time—"

"Just keep it away from my bed," Brenda said.

"I believe he was talking to _me_," Jack said loudly. Silence fell on the table. "He's fine here, Jess."

"What are you going to do all summer, Jess, without your girlfriend?" Ellie snickered, her lack of summer clothes forgotten.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Oh, okay," Ellie said, stabbing her chicken with her fork as Brenda snorted with disbelief. "What do you two do all day, then? You're _always_ with her—after school…on weekends—"

"Will you shut up, Ellie?" Mrs. Aarons asked, irritated. "When does she get back, Jess?"

"Six weeks."

"That's an _long_ time," Brenda cooed at him. "Six weeks. What are you going to do without her?"

"Knock it off, Brenda," Jack barked as Jess gave her a death look and continued eating in silence.

"Honestly, Brenda, be quiet," Mrs. Aarons snapped out. Then she paused. "Er…Jess? What _are_ you going to do all summer?"

"See?" Brenda asked triumphantly. "Even _you_ were wondering."

Jess swallowed. "Uh—"

"Well, you'll be able to help me out a little bit," Jack said confidently. "Greenhouse needs to be cleaned out. And I hear some builders are going to come up here soon…maybe we can sell them some wood, too. We'd have to get it ready…."

"Builders?" asked Mrs. Aarons and May Belle at the same time.

"Yes, builders," Jack said, pushing back his plate. "I heard in town that there's a company that bought some land around here. Clothing company, or something."

Brenda and Ellie lit up.

"_Clothes_?" they both asked, firing questions at their parents at once. "Is the store going to be an expensive one? How far away will it be from here? Are they going to build soon?"

"Quiet!" howled Mrs. Aarons but it was too late.

"Would you get us clothes from whatever store they're going to build?" Ellie asked. "If that's all they're building and if it's really close to here and all?"

"That's not _all_ they're building," Jack said sharply. He looked sorry he even spoke. "I think someone else is doing some home foundations. Now can we please get this blasted conversation off of _clothes_?"

Jess knew even before he tuned out his sisters that they would not listen at all. He excused himself from the table as soon as he possibly could and went up to his room. PT was lying on his bed, feet in the air.

"Hey, you," Jess said, and the dog rolled over and faced him instantly. "Let's go for a walk."

Outside it was beautiful. The sun was melting across the sky as it glided downwards into the horizon, and a light breeze lifted the heat that had settled deep into the earth. Jess ran with PT along the dirt road that separated his house from the Burkes', thinking of all the walks he and Leslie went on after dinner, how if Leslie were with him now she would stop dead in her tracks and fall silent, gazing up at the sky.

"Listen," she would say to Jess, and he would stop and listen but not hear anything.

"What is it?" he would ask.

"It's the Spirits," Leslie would whisper. "Listen to them calling our names. They're telling us their stories."

And Jess would start to hear them, too. He would look at the fiery sky in a whole new way and hear the voices in the wind and feel the Spirits all around him. They would sit down on the road and listen until one of their parents – usually Judy or Bill, as Jack and Nancy were often too busy – came to disrupt their peaceful silence to tell them it was too dark for them to be roaming around outside.

"You two were awfully quiet back there," Bill mentioned once as the three of them walked back down the dirt road. "Get tired of talking sometimes, or what?"

But neither Jess nor Leslie could answer in a way that felt right. Sometimes they just didn't need to talk. Sometimes they could just feel each other's thoughts and emotions in a way that would be ruined if they tried to speak.

As Jess walked, he tried to listen to the silence like he always did with Leslie. But he didn't hear anything; he never seemed to hear anything when she wasn't with him. So he instead raced PT down the road, feeling the hard ground on the soles of his shoes, breathing in the sweet air, thinking about how much Leslie would have loved the perfect night.

There was one thing that didn't seem right. Towards the end of the road, past the Burke's house, was a huge bulky _thing_. Jess squinted at it; it looked like an oversized tractor.

"Come on, PT," he called to the dog and they trotted down the road to inspect.

It wasn't a tractor. It was a bulldozer, like something Jess had seen in a book once, with its huge metal plate in the front and the tube that belched smoke into the sky. It was off, now, and no one was inside the compartment, and Jess wondered why it was there.

"You're back early," Jack Aarons commented when Jess walked into the living room not too long afterwards. "You usually don't come home until after dark."

Jess shrugged. "Leslie's not here."

"Ah," Jack said, nodding. He was watching a basketball game on TV. "You just can't function without that girl, can you?"

Jess didn't answer, instead he told his father about the bulldozer he had seen at the end of the dirt road. Jack nodded again.

"Must have been sent by that company," he said. "They're going to start clearing land up north here soon."

"For houses?"

"Most likely. And that blasted clothing store we're never going to hear the end about."

Jess smiled. "How much land are they going to rip up?"

"I'm not sure. And it ain't land being 'ripped up'," Jack told him. "It's land being _developed_, son. I hate to admit it, but it will be a little easier having a clothing store near here. And more people are coming to Lark Creek, for some reason," he added as he shook his head. "They need more houses, anyway."

"Yeah," Jess said. He never understood why people came to Lark Creek. They always seemed to have guys his age that destroyed everything in their sight, terrorized young women, and stole stuff out of stores. And it didn't help that they had to go the high school with him.

"So that will mean a rise of population at your school," Jack said, brow furrowed slightly. He seemed to read Jess's mind. "I wonder how that will ride out."

"Hopefully it won't be too bad."

"Hopefully," Jack agreed. "You did pretty good freshman year. Mostly Bs and only a C in what, science? Not bad for someone who used to hate school."

Jess's heart swelled; he lived for praise from his father. He especially liked the conversations he got to have with him. Jack had been a little less stressed out ever since he got a promotion at the hardware store he worked at, and it showed. Now he had time to hug his daughters and ruffle Jess's hair when he got home; his mood had improved greatly and he had a lot more down time then he had had back then. Several years ago he always seemed to be stressed out about paying bills and tired because he didn't get to sleep. Now he never seemed worried. Or so Jess thought.

"But you know, I have a feeling Brenda's going to drop out of collage this year," Jack said now. "She didn't do so great last year. So now this clothing store is all we're going to hear about because she'll be staying here."

This was so unexpected Jess took a moment to answer. "Er…wouldn't she have her own house?" he asked.

Jack snorted. "Houses cost money. And money means jobs. Unless we can knock some sense into her so she'll work this summer, I don't think she'll be doing so great on her own."

Jess shrugged. He knew this was true, but he also knew it wasn't his place to say anything.

"So are you going to help me with the wood tomorrow?"

Jess flinched. Leslie hated seeing trees chopped down. "Um…sure."

"Bright and early," Jack said with a yawn. "Your girlfriend isn't here for you to play around with, so hopefully—"

"She's not my girlfriend, Dad."

Jack chuckled slightly. "I'm kidding with you, boy. Get a sense of humor."

OOO

Later when he was in his bed, drawing, and PT at his feet, May Belle and Joyce Ann started fighting over playing Barbies across the room.

"I don't _want_ to play with those stupid dolls," May Belle shouted. "I'm sick of them."

"But you have to play with me! No one else will," whined Joyce Ann.

"Be quiet, you two," Jess sighed as May Belle opened her mouth. "May Belle, can't you just play Barbies to keep her happy?"

"I don't _want_ to. I'm too _old_ for Barbies."

"Leslie would do it. And she's sixteen."

May Belle hesitated, then reached under her bed and pulled out her makeshift Barbie house. She worshiped Leslie. The times Jess let May Belle and Joyce Ann hang out with them, the little girls would not give Leslie peace until they could braid her hair and until she told them one of her wild stories. They loved to hear her talk; they asked her for advice on just about anything. Jess knew she didn't mind too much; only when the girls admired her and told her she was the most beautiful person in the whole world would Leslie draw the line.

"Oh, that's not true," she would say, shaking her head. "There are so many other things out there more interesting then me."

"But it _is_ true," the little girls would protest. "Look at your eyes, and you have the most perfect face, and—"

"I'll prove it." Leslie would look around, then ask, "Do you have a mirror?"

Joyce Ann would bring her one and Leslie would hold it up so the little girls could see themselves.

"See? Look at you, Joyce Ann," she would tell her. "And May Belle, you, too. Look how beautiful you guys are."

"I don't see," they would say.

"You don't? But it's so obvious. See those brown eyes? Look how they shine like that in the light. And—"

"Brown is boring," May Belle would say. "_Yours_ are sea-green."

"Oh, but didn't I tell you about the two girls who lived in the water? The most beautiful girls in the entire kingdom that their father ruled? _Their_ eyes were brown."

"How does that story go?"

"Well, these two girls were princesses of the Seaworld, and it just so happens that you two remind me so much of them…"

Now Joyce Ann lit up as May Belle put the house together. She started dressing a Barbie. "Should she have blue shoes or green?" she said to May Belle.

"Green," May Belle said as she took out another Barbie. "But only if her top was white."

"Okay. Her name is Tiffany and she lives in a big mansion with huge eagles that are her servants. They carry her wherever she wants to go."

"But they're spies, remember?" May Belle was weakening.

"Oh, yeah. And they take her to the forest where she gets captured by an evil tree guardian and—" She stopped. "Jess, how did Leslie's story go again? The one with the girl and the eagles?"

As Jess retold Leslie's story for them, he realized momentarily that Leslie had probably done a better job raising his sisters then his own mother in terms of teaching them to keep and cherish their imagination, even as they grew up. He smiled as his sisters went back to playing with their Barbies, recalling how she had done the exact same thing with him.

* * *

**So I guessed a little bit on the kids' ages here; Jess and Leslie are sixteen so I tried to adjust Jess's sisters' ages accordingly. Sorry if they seem a little off :) And just to let you know, this fanfic is based off the movie (rather then the book :D) but for example, at the beginning I said that Jess and Leslie had met in Mrs. Myers's classroom, like they had in the movie, rather then on Jess's farm like in the book. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone was wondering.**

**This might seem to be going slow but trust me, I have this all outlined and every word you read is either part of the story or foreshadowing (hint, hint ;) ) so fear not. I will update as soon as I can. **

**And I'm sure I responded to every lovely person who has reviewed this story, but to the anonymous reviewers that I couldn't respond to (zack, ella, and SunBurst) thank you so much for taking the time to read and review! I appreciate it a lot.**

**Please review! Your opinions mean **_**so**_** much, so even if you hate this story with a passion, **_**tell**_** me:) Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**And here is chapter three! It's rather long, I know, but I couldn't stop once I started. And hopefully you guys won't mind. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Is that dog eating the wood?"

Jess looked over to the woodpile. Sure enough, PT was gnawing on one of the wood strips he and his father had sanded. Irritably he shooed him away.

"Come on, PT, go find a rabbit to chase or something," he told the dog. PT bounded away. "He'll get tired eventually, Dad. He's just bored."

It was midday. Jess had been up since dawn, working harder then he had all summer, but the work was worth spending time with his dad. Jack let Jess drive down to the field where his lumber piles lay, teaching him the basics of driving in a nutshell: "Brake here, okay, speed up a little, okay, you can turn now—" Jess triumphantly turned off the road into the grassy field at high speed, "—Not bad. Okay…a little to the left…good. Stop here."

"Well," Jack had said as they got out of the vehicle. "Maybe if I get a new truck you'll be able to drive this one. High school busses are hell, anyway."

Jess smiled. Back before his father got a promotion he would never have offered Jess a truck, or talked to him about anything other then chores, for that matter.

They had started sawing up the wood into strips that workers could use to build with, sanding the rough edges and putting the lumber in piles. PT ran around them in circles, wagging his tail and, of course, attempting to eat the wood.

"Why don't we stop for lunch?" Jack said now, putting down the sandpaper and getting to his feet. Jess happily agreed. Every inch of him was soaked in sweat and the sun burned off his skin.

They pulled out sandwiches and sat in the shade of the pickup. PT sniffed Jess's hands hopefully, and he threw the dog a little piece of the meat.

"It's the way of business, son," Jack said suddenly as they ate, as though Jess had asked the question. "We all gotta work for our living, and some harder then others."

Jess took another bite of his sandwich.

"Though some people don't have to work," Jack contradicted himself. "Like all those lazy kids born to rich families."

"Well," said Jess, wiping sweat off his face. "It hurts them in the long run."

"Never a truer word said," Jack agreed. "I'll tell you what, son, once this damn work is over with and workers come to pay us good money for our lumber, we'll have all that cash to spend and we'll be able to sit back and stay in the air conditioning." It sounded as though he was trying to convince himself. "Though you'll just be roaming around in the woods like you always are."

"Yeah." Jess swallowed. "You really think you'd be able to get a new car with the money from this lumber?"

"I have a feeling Brenda and Ellie will be getting clothes before I get a new car," shrugged Jack, picking at his bread crust. "Anyway. This old pickup could hold out for a while longer. You'd be able to drive it to your school, anyway, if your mother and I can convince those girls that trucks are more important then clothes."

They were silent for a second, then Jack added, "Why is it that those girls always seem to get what they want?"

"Because they complain?" Jess said.

Jack frowned at him, but his eyes held amusement. "I'm going to talk to your mother about them," he said, shaking his head. "They need to be working as hard as the rest of this family, because like you said, it hurts them in the long run. Now let's get back on out there."

Jess unwillingly left the comfort of the shade and followed his dad back to the woodpile. He was going to be out in the sun for another five hours. At least.

The wood from another pile a couple of yards away from their workstation was either too long or too short to be used as the type of lumber workers sought out for buildings; they threw out the short pieces and had to saw the long ones.

"Good Lord," Jack observed as Jess sawed the wood in half with smooth strokes. "When did I ever teach you to saw?"

"Er…I don't think you did," Jess said. The wood fell cleanly onto the ground. "Leslie taught me."

"That girl does it all," muttered Jack in disbelief. He picked up another piece of lumber and started sawing at it. "She teach you to hammer, too?"

"Probably. We were like twelve, Dad. Her parents let me help them fix up their house."

Jack shook his head again. "Don't tell anyone I said this," he said, sighing, "but I wish that Brenda and Ellie could have turned out like her. And I hope it's not too late for May Belle and Joyce Ann. That girl's got her priorities straight."

"What do you mean?"

Jack lifted his shoulders then let them back down. "Well…" he said slowly, sawing the wood with even strokes. "She doesn't obsess about clothes, for one thing. Or stay up until midnight calling boys. And I've never heard Leslie whine or complain, either."

"You're not around her during gym class," Jess said, grinning, and his dad chuckled.

"It must be a female priority," he said. "All girls must hate gym class."

Jess laughed.

"All I know is that she's—" He stopped, obviously looking for the right words, "—_changed_ you," his dad continued. "I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but…I don't know. You're just different."

"In a good way?"

"Sure. I mean, she's teaching you how to _saw_,of all things." His lips twitched for a moment but before Jess registered that he was smiling they were normal again. "But she's got a good head on her shoulders. A real pretty one, too, I might add."

Jess smiled. "Yeah."

"You'll have to watch her carefully this fall," Jack said. Jess expected him to say more, but his father continued sawing. Finally he asked, "Why?"

"Like I said last night, the high school's getting more kids this fall." Jack grunted as the wood fell to the ground in two pieces. "By 30 percent, I heard."

"_Seriously_?"

"Yeah. Part of the reason we're getting all these new house foundations. There are going to be a lot more people at your school this year."

"So why do I have to watch Leslie carefully?"

Jack shook his head, really smiling now. "_Work_ with me, boy. More people equal more guys your age ready to steal her away." He nodded knowingly. "They'll hound her like crazy unless you fight 'em off. Trust me."

Jess just nodded, and they went back to work. Sure, the guys at school who didn't think she was crazy (i.e. the most popular ones) or simply abnormal (the athletes and the snobby girls' guy friends) followed Leslie around like love-struck puppies and a couple of hopefuls would occasionally try to coax her into a date, but Leslie was strong; he didn't need to intervene unless the guys tried getting physical. And he'd taken quiet a few blows for stepping between Leslie and whatever freak it was who was trying to get his hands on her. His dad didn't need to tell him to protect her – that was just automatic.

PT continued to gnaw on the wood so much Jack finally sawed off a little piece just for him. The dog was obviously not concerned about splinters. But on the way back that evening (Jess drove) he was scratching at his mouth and whining in the back seat.

"Stupid dog," Jack grumbled from the front as they bumped along down the road in the pickup. "The Burkes must have one heck of a time with him. And he's not even a puppy anymore."

As they turned up the dirt road, Jess saw the bulldozer again. This time, a group of men was gathered around it, leaning over something and talking. They looked up once they saw the pickup coming; one or two of them waved.

"Stop for a second," Jack said, and Jess braked. Jack rolled down his window and stuck his head out.

"'Afternoon, gentlemen," he told the workers.

"'Afternoon, sir," one of them said; the others nodded respectfully. They were all dressed in carpenter jeans and dirty work shirts; one of them was rolling up a blueprint of something. "This old girl ain't in your way, is she?"

"She's fine," Jack said, and Jess assumed they were talking about the bulldozer. "You guys part of the company building homes up north?"

"Yes, sir, we are," a second man said. "Lark Creek Real Estate. Our boss has a license and he just bought a bunch of land to develop."

"We're the ones leveling the land," another man added.

"Whereabouts in Lark Creek?" Jack asked.

"Oh, just up that way," the first man said, pointing up the dirt road, behind the pickup truck. "I think the land's about ten to fifteen acres."

"Though our boss is trying to sneak in more," chortled a forth man. "Aw, well. More land, more money for us."

Jack chuckled heartily with the men, perhaps a little too heartily.

"Well, if you're ever in a need of lumber, give us a shout," he told them. "My son and I spent the day sanding some of our wood out in the fields. I live down that way and to the left."

"The Perkins place?"

"No, no. Right across from it. It's a red farmhouse."

"We'll tell our boss, see if he's interested," the second man said. "Thanks a lot."

"Have fun," Jack answered, and he rolled up his window as Jess hit the gas.

"I bet it's an illegal contract," Jack muttered as they bumped down the road again. "I thought that land was owned property."

"What land?"

"Way up there," Jack said, gesturing to the horizon at no place in particular. "Wonder how many trees will have to come down."

"But it's land being _developed_."

Jack snorted. "Damn right. Anyway, the more people that come to Lark Creek, the more business I get at the hardware store. Step on the gas a little more; you're slowing down."

That first day laid out the rest of Jess's summer. He'd get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, then the rest of his waking hours were usually spent helping his dad with the lumber. When the wood was stacked by the house neatly he started helping in the greenhouse, pulling up late weeds and early vegetables. PT ran around underfoot until Joyce Ann started playing with him so they could work. May Belle carried some of the vegetables back to the house or brought them water when they were thirsty. And Brenda and Ellie were forced—by threat of them being sent back to their college apartment for the summer—to help their mother in the house.

"Why should I have to clean the living room?" was the first thing Jess heard nearly every morning the rest of the summer. "It's not like it will _stay_ clean."

"Well, why do we wash the dishes, Ellie?" Mrs. Aarons would be answering by the time Jess sat down to the table. "_They're_ just going to get dirty again."

His father would stay long enough just to make it very clear to Brenda and Ellie that the entire family had to work and they too were required to help out; then he joined Jess and May Belle in the greenhouse with Joyce Ann and PT following at his heels. And while Ellie and Brenda complained, Nancy loaded more chores for them to do on their work lists until they fell silent. The first day that they had to work Brenda and Ellie must have cleaned the whole house.

After three weeks of pure labor, Jess came into the house one afternoon for a snack while his mother was sorting through the mail, Ellie loading dishes in the dishwasher and Brenda sweeping the floor as she did. Ellie and Brenda were grumbling. Nancy didn't seem bothered.

"Let's see…oh, I was wondering when I was going to get that package…I thought she said she sent it weeks ago…and here's the power bill…and the house mortgage…hmm, rather early this moth…oh, Jess, you have something—"

"_He_ gets mail, and we don't?" Brenda said in a surprised—almost horrified—tone. Ellie whipped around.

"Who would bother writing to _you_?" she shot out, as Jess took his letter from Mrs. Aarons happily. As he had guessed, it was from Leslie.

"Who's it from, Jess?" Brenda asked primly, as though she didn't know.

Jess turned around and faced her. Suddenly he had had enough.

"My girlfriend," he told her. Mrs. Aarons looked up in shock, Ellie dropped a plate she had been holding, and Brenda's jaw plummeted downwards but Jess didn't care. He practically skipped up to his room holding Leslie's letter.

_Sorry, Leslie_, he said to himself as he sat on his bed and opened the envelope. _Looks like neither of us are going to hear the end of it now. But I had to do that._

The first thing Jess pulled out was a postcard of Niagara Falls. It looked amazing, with its waters rushing downwards into a brilliant mist below, the deep blue water against the sky. He looked on the back but there was nothing written on it. Jess looked inside the envelope again; there was a folded piece of notebook paper in it.

Jess pulled it out and opened it.

_Dear Jess,_

_So I've been at Niagara Falls for a couple of days now. We went to a couple of places before we arrived here, a lot of parks and some museums. One day we went down to a gallery in Pennsylvania. You would have loved it; there was a bunch of artwork that used different techniques and all the work used different kinds of paint…I took notes for you, and Bill took pictures._

_Niagara Falls is beautiful. It looks exactly like the postcard, only it's better in real life because you can hear its roar and feel the power those waters contain. Its strength was amazing…almost as though it belonged in a magical kingdom!_

Jess smiled. He knew Leslie would never put down "Terabithia" in case someone else read her letter. But he knew what she meant.

_Yesterday we went down on a cruise ship into the water right below the Falls! I couldn't even hear myself think; the screaming of the water was so loud. By the time the three of us got back on shore, we were soaked. But it was so much fun. I wish you could have been there._

_You haven't been losing your brain cells this summer, have you? I'm testing you when I get back, so start studying all our old school books. No, I'm only kidding. How have you been spending your summer? And has PT been too much trouble? And how are _they _doing? Everything okay up in the woods? _

_I'm writing this from our hotel, so I know you won't be able to respond to an address, but just know that I miss you but I'll see you in less then a month. Then we get to spend all day at school together for the next nine months. Fun, huh?_

_Say hi to May Belle and Joyce Ann for me. See you soon!_

_Love,_

_Leslie_

"I am _not_ losing any brain cells," Jess said aloud, putting the letter back in the envelope and putting it under his pillow. He couldn't help grinning. He could picture Leslie standing in front of Niagara Falls, wild and free like the water, watching it roar down to the river below with her hair whipping in the wind.

Jess walked back downstairs where Mrs. Aarons and Ellie were irritably sweeping up the glass shards, the remains of the plate Ellie had dropped.

"…at least be more _careful_…!"

"Mom, you heard what he said! _You_ were surprised."

"That's no reason to break a perfectly good plate that now we're going to have to replace—"

"So, Jess, what did your _girlfriend_—" Brenda paused for Jess to catch the word, "—say to you? That she's glad you're away from her?"

"Or did she declare undying love?" Ellie said, putting the back of her hand to her forehead mockingly.

"Brenda, Ellie, leave your brother alone," Nancy snapped across the kitchen while Jess took an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Come on, Jesse, what _did_ she say?" whined Ellie. Jess paused at the back door.

"She wanted to tell me that she accepted my proposal," he told his sisters sarcastically. "We're getting married in August."

OOO

It took two weeks for both his mother and his father to fully stop Brenda and Ellie from asking Jess if they could be bridesmaids for the wedding, or if they could help them plan their honeymoon, or if they were going to live close to home so they could visit them any time they wanted, every time he was in the same room with them. Joyce Ann claimed the roll of flower girl, thinking for a while that Jess had been serious, and May Belle, though while she knew Jess had been sarcastic, lit up at the thought of Leslie being her sister-in-law.

"Don't you think that would be cool?" she said one night at dinner as Jess tried to kick her under the table. "Leslie being related to us? And that would make Mr. and Mrs. Burke our family, too!"

"That would be very nice," Nancy told her. "Now eat your ham."

"Leslie doesn't have sisters, so I'll be the maid of honor," Ellie said as Jess sighed heavily. "And Brenda could stick an apple in her mouth and sit on the table in a platter…."

"Shut _up_," Brenda barked at her. "Like _you_ would be the maid of honor, anyway."

"Quiet!" Jack said loudly. "Will you two shut up, now, please? Jess, do you and Leslie plan on getting married?"

"No."

"Then that's settled," said Jack easily. "Brenda, Ellie, you heard him. Now hush."

Finally when Brenda and Ellie's extra taunts died down and Joyce Ann was convinced that was not going to be a flower girl, there were only a few days to go before Leslie returned. One particular day a couple of the men Jess had seen with his father when they first started sanding the lumber came to their door; Jack went away with them for a half hour or so and came back looking extremely happy.

"Closed a deal," he told Mrs. Aarons, giving her a rare peck on the cheek as he walked past them in the kitchen. "All that wood Jess and I sanded? Those builders are buying all of it."

So it came as no surprise that Jack came pulling into the driveway in the morning, the day Leslie was supposed to be back, with a bigger, better, newer pickup truck, having discussed the option with Mrs. Aarons (from what Jess heard through the vent that led to the living room) the night before. The family stood around and admired it, then once Nancy herded Brenda and Ellie back into the house so they could do laundry and May Belle and Joyce Ann were in the greenhouse, Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the old pickup truck keys.

"Well," he said to Jess who stood examining the huge tire of the new truck, "the old pickup is yours."

"Really?" asked Jess in disbelief.

"No, I was kidding," Jack said sarcastically, tossing the keys at Jess. Jess caught them, grinning. "You helped out a lot with the lumber over the summer. You'll need the truck."

"But Joyce Ann and May Belle've been helping—"

"Are they old enough to drive?"

"And Brenda and Ellie—"

"—have a car of their own," Jack finished for him. "And no matter how much they complain about how old it is, it works perfectly. That old truck is yours."

Jess smiled, fingering the keys in his hand. "Thanks, Dad."

"You won't have to ride the bus, now, anyway," Jack shrugged. "With all the new kids your school is going to have the busses aren't going to be very fun for you and Leslie. Trust me."

As Jess sat on the Burke's steps that evening after dinner, he realized how much he was going to have to catch Leslie up on. He had been to Terabithia only a couple times so there wasn't too much there requiring an update, but first there were builders, then there was news of more students at the high school, and now they had a truck all to themselves, all news that he would get to tell her about.

The sun hadn't set just yet but he figured that they would get back late at night and had gotten up to leave when the Burke's car came pulling up the driveway. PT started barking and Jess scooped him up so Bill wouldn't roll over him. Leslie flew out of the backseat before the car even came to a complete stop.

"Jess!" she said happily and Jess had to put PT down so he could hug her. Even in the dying light Jess could see her clearly. Her hair was a little longer but other then that she looked the same; she seemed to glow in the sun's golden light.

"How are you?" he laughed after she had stepped back from him. _How_ he had missed those eyes.

"I'm good but I'm so…so _tired_!" she said, attempting and failing not to yawn. Bill and Judy were getting out of the car now; Judy looked as though she just woke up. "We had to drive a lot in the last couple of days. But we're home now," Leslie added as she looked around. PT jumped up to her knees and she picked him up, kissing his head. "Hey, you!" She looked up from her dog and asked, "How has he been, Jess? How have you been? Are things at your house good? What did you do for six weeks?"

"Slow down," Jess said, laughing. "I can't answer all those at once."

"What did you do?"

"I worked," Jess said as Bill and Judy walked up to them.

"_Worked_?" Leslie said incredulously. "Really? But it's _summer_! You—"

"Jeeze, Leslie, for someone who seemed so tired in the car you have a lot of energy," Judy said as she smoothed down Leslie's hair. "Nice to see you, Jess."

"You, too," Jess said. "How were the Falls?"

"They were beautiful," sighed Judy as Bill nodded appreciatively. "Oh, you should have seen them, Jess. But we took pictures; we'll get to show them to you."

"Did you get my letter?" asked Leslie eagerly.

"Yeah, I did," Jess said. "Yeah, you said you went under the Falls…"

"We did," said Bill, chuckling. "It was madness…everything was so loud…."

"But it was fun," beamed Leslie.

"PT was good for you?"

"Yeah, he had fun," Jess said. "He was good."

Judy took the dog from Leslie. "Well, we'll leave you two to catch up," she said. "Come here, boy…good dog. I've actually missed this little terror," she said with a smile. "We'll unload the car in the morning, Bill?"

"Sounds good," Bill said. "Jess, we'll see you in the morning, probably."

"Okay."

"Come on over and we'll show you pictures," Judy added. "Come knock on our door when you come back in, okay, Leslie?"

"Okay."

"Good night, then," Bill said, smiling and clasping Leslie on the shoulder before they walked inside the house, PT's tail thumping against Judy's arm.

Leslie hugged him again. Jess laughed. "Not get enough hugs at the Falls?" he asked teasingly.

"The water can't exactly give hugs," Leslie said, grinning. She pulled away and they sat down on the steps.

"Did you get some of the water?" Jess asked.

Leslie smiled. "I did. It's in the car; we can put it in Terabithia tomorrow."

Jess smiled back in happiness. "Okay."

"So you had to work this summer? What did you _do_? Lift up trees?"

"Close," Jess said. "I sanded lumber with my dad. But we had to chop it all up and stuff first."

"Your arms are bigger, more muscular," Leslie observed, and Jess looked down at them.

"They are," he said. "I never noticed that."

"Oh, God," Leslie said, rolling her eyes. "Now I have to go to high school with some macho man _no_ one's going to leave alone—"

"Hey," Jess said, snorting. "You've got your own worshipers. And you'll have more of them, because our school population is increasing by 30 percent this fall."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Jess said. "But, hey, get this! We don't have to ride the bus."

"Why?"

"Because," Jess paused dramatically, "I got Dad's old truck."

Leslie gasped, a smile spreading on her face. "You got the truck?"

"Yeah," Jess said proudly. "Dad got a new one, so I got his old pickup."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I've been driving it a lot the last month and a half."

Leslie laughed and spread her arms out, looking to the sky. "O mighty spirits, protect the world from Jess and his driving madness—"

"Oh, shut up," Jess laughed. He was feeling happier then he had in a long time. "Want to go for a really quick drive?"

"Let me get my crash helmet," Leslie said, and he swatted her playfully.

"Let's go."

They tore across the road to Jess's driveway and into the truck; thankfully the Aarons were still in the house so no one was there to stop them. Jess started the road and Leslie, sitting securely in the front seat, took a deep breath.

"Here we go," she said, acting dramatic, as though she was about to go to the gallows. Jess grinned and turned onto the dirt road, automatically turning toward the bulldozer, the way he had been driving out into the fields for the last six weeks. He was so used to seeing the bulldozer that he was surprised at Leslie's question.

"What's that doing down there?"

Then Jess remembered she'd been gone for so long. "Oh," he said. "They're developing land somewhere near here."

Leslie stiffened. She turned her head so she could look at Jess, her eyes wide. "Where?"

Jess shrugged. "Somewhere up ahead. Ten or fifteen acres, I think."

"So they're not developing anywhere back there?" Leslie pointed behind them, to the road that traveled along to the larger fields that led to the forest and creek.

"Er…no," Jess said, confused. Then it hit him.

"Oh, no…no, don't worry, Leslie," he told her, steering expertly around the bulldozer. "They're not going anywhere near there. They're building house foundations up here, towards the town. That's it."

Leslie nodded. "Oh."

They decided to drive up to their school and back, so Jess would be familiar with the roads before they had to go there. Leslie didn't say a lot until they were back on the dirt road, and once they were she let out a sigh of what sounded like relief.

"What?" Jess said, looking over at her.

"You drove good."

"What, you were scared I would kill us both?"

Leslie snorted. "Yes."

Jess slammed on the gas and took a sudden swerve off the road into the ditch on the side of the street. Leslie screamed and Jess laughed hysterically, turning back onto the road.

Leslie smacked his shoulder. "Don't _do_ that!"

"Sorry," Jess laughed. "Had to."

Leslie threw her head back against the headrest, laughing. "Believe it or not, I actually missed you."

"I missed you, too." Jess hit the brake a little bit, because Leslie was still shaky. "But we don't have any summer left."

"Sure we do; we have like a little more then a week," Leslie answered him. "Tomorrow let's go to Terabithia. What's been happening there when I was gone, anyway?"

"Well," Jess said slowly, turning back into his driveway, "I notified the subjects that you would be departed for a colossal quantity of time, and you would be exallant or whatever to see them at your homecoming, and since then they have been royally confused—"

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

**The story's still moving slowly, I know. Please no one hurt me. :D Trust me, everything is all under control:D :D**

**So I stuck with the name "Nancy" for Mrs. Aarons even though this is based off the movie because, in my opinion, it fits her better then "Mary". And, uh…I guess that's it…**

**Your reviews are the very things that keep me writing – thanks for reading and hopefully you'll click that purplish button down there and tell me how awful or how weird or how cute or how clichéd or how good (I hope) or how laughably pathetic this fanfic was. **

**Prepare yourselves…from now on I'm going to have to rate this fanfic T, because of what's going to start happening starting next chapter. ;) I'll be updating soon! Thanks again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So I made this chapter a little longer then I would have liked because I'm going to be out of town for ten days starting next Tuesday, and I won't be able to update (or actually write the next chapter) during that time. I hope you guys don't mind. :)**

**And now, I apologize in advance, not just for not being able to update for about two weeks, but for…well, you'll find out. I have a feeling that I might not be getting some good reviews after this chapter… :::::barricades door:::::**

**Enjoy! (Hopefully)**

* * *

Whatever preparation they might have had of simply knowing that more families were joining their town, nothing could have prepared them for the dreadful damage their high school had gone through because of a population rise. 

"Oh, my God," Leslie said.

Jess agreed with her silently. They were both standing in front of Lark Creek High, looking at the entrance in horror.

Groups of people who looked like gang members were moving around the courtyard and shoving people out of their way; there were several people fighting each other on the ground all around the campus. Some of the freshmen were getting books knocked out of their hands. Girls who looked as though they had never heard of a dress code were talking loudly, manicured hands holding cell phones to their ears, and some of them were yelling cuss words at each other across other people's heads. There were couples making out in front of their friends, against the walls, on the ground, everywhere; there were even two girls kissing. Some people were on their own while others were crowded together with their friends; near the gates on the right side of the school a group of guys stood smoking cigarettes; a couple of students who looked either drunk or stoned were wandering around talking to themselves. And there were way, _way_ more students then there had been last year.

"I'm going home," Jess said, actually reaching for the truck keys, but Leslie grabbed his wrist.

"We can't skip school."

"We can't _survive_ school," Jess said incredulously. "There is _no_ way I am—"

"Hey, sweetheart, I need some sugar," slurred someone whose breath reeked of alcohol, who had come up from behind them. "Can you give me some, pretty?" he said before either of them could react, putting his hands on Leslie's waist.

Jess seized him by the shoulders and Leslie gave a cry of surprise, smacking his hands hard. "Get _away_ from me," she snapped and Jess shoved him toward the school.

"Ass," he shouted after the drunken guy as he shuffled away, chattering to himself about honey. "_See_, Leslie? That guy has 'rapist' written all over him! And there will be more where he came from!"

"It was just one guy," Leslie said, though her eyes were wide with alarm. "Besides…you wouldn't have to worry about him."

"_You_ would."

"Well, I'm not." But Leslie still looked shaken. "We're going to go down there. And we're not turning back."

Jess snorted. "You're crazy."

"That's what everyone says, right?" Leslie said cheerfully. "Come _on_, Jess. We're not going into war."

"Sure freaking feels like it."

"Jess!" Now Leslie was looking at him somewhat desperately. "We can do this. Nothing crushes us."

Jess grinned halfheartedly. They stood there for a moment longer while people—some looking terrified—hurried past them into the courtyard. Then Jess let out a sigh.

"Well, you're right," he said eventually. "Ready?"

Leslie nodded. "Yeah."

"If I don't survive, tell the Terabithians that they have been good subjects."

"Will do, your royal chicken-ness," muttered Leslie, rolling her eyes. Jess smiled a real smile now and put a grateful hand on her shoulder.

"Okay," he said. "Ready?"

"_Yes_, Jess."

"Here we go, then," he said, and they both took a deep breath, then they walked into the courtyard.

It was a nightmare. Jess was lost in a blur of noise and motion and when he finally made it to the inside of the school, he was sure decades had passed from the time he had first been sucked into the mess to the time he had been spat out of it. People were pushing behind him, slowing down in front of him, closing in on both sides, separating him from Leslie and leaving him completely on his own. He got shoved down once and out of instinct he picked himself back up as quickly as he fell. He could smell beer, cigarette smoke, other people's sweat; he felt as though he was being smothered.

In the hall the instant he saw Leslie again he seized her wrist and held on, refusing to lose her again, as they fought like warriors to get under cover.

"Holy crap," were his first words when they had found air to breathe in the hallways. Leslie grabbed his hand and pulled him down to the administration office. Times like these were the times Jess could never be grateful enough that she had always been stronger.

"Let's get our schedules," she said. She looked as though she had been struck by something very heavy. She could have been; anything could have happened in the stampede. "Maybe we can request getting all our classes together."

"Yeah, okay," gasped Jess as they hurried through the halls. "Maybe we can get body guards, too."

They did end up having two classes together; gym, right before lunch, and English, the last period of the day. Before they knew it, the first bell was ringing, and the halls were transforming into the turmoil that reminded Jess of the mass evacuations he saw on TV, where cities had to fight each other tooth and nail to get out of town before hurricanes hit, only in this scenario everyone was squashed together in a smaller environment.

"Good luck," he heard Leslie say then she was gone, swept away from him by the crowd, and Jess was suddenly lost in all of it, one tough looking face replaced by one layered in makeup, one baggy shirt replaced by an extremely tight one. He tried looked ahead but blonde hair, brown hair, black hair, red hair, even bright pink hair blocked his way; the Florissant lights above him seemed unreal, everything was ridiculously confusing. Then somehow Jess was able to get his arms in front of him long enough to read his homeroom class off his schedule, then he fought the other students brutally to get out of the first building and into the one that held his class.

The second bell was ringing as he and several others ran into the classroom. His teacher, a stern-looking woman wearing way too much lipstick, glared at them from the front of the room. Those who had gotten there on time broke up their conversations, primly turned their heads, and stared at them, as though required by law to gaze unblinkingly at those who dared cross the threshold five seconds late.

"Well, those of you who are tardy, it is the first day back, so I will let this slide," said the woman in the front. "But from now on, I would prefer it if you all tried to be on time."

Jess slid into an empty seat and silently prayed that Leslie had made it safely to her first class.

He sunk into a stupor as his teacher preached on and on about how sophomore year was a _big_ year, and she would need them to pay _extra_ attention in their classes, and blah, blah, blah, and she needed _everyone_ to bring in the blah she was passing out now, and blah, _blah_, blah, and if someone walked in that smelled like _blah_, blah, she would not be very _blah_, and blah, blah, blah….

Jess eagerly jumped out of his seat when the bell shook him out of his coma-like state. He shoved the forms his teacher had given him into his backpack, took out his schedule again, and braced himself before going into the halls again.

"This is ridiculous," he heard someone mutter behind him. "There weren't as many people as there was last year…."

By the time he got to third period, Jess had received enough homework and paperwork that if he chose to put each assignment and form side by side the paper probably could have stretched out for miles. Last year when the school was somewhat under control this would have worried him, but now Jess wasn't anxious about homework. Instead he concerned himself with seeking out the person who could be the biggest threat to him on school campus. As he got out of his second class he found that biggest threat, or rather, threats: four or five guys who were strutting down the middle of the hall, and judging by the other people that were skirting around them, they had been doing damage to new students that day. The guys were all dressed in black, and their leader had a lip ring, and Jess felt it wholly necessary to listen to his instinct that told him to stay away. By the time he got to the gym, he felt like an old pro avoiding them while at the same time he escaped the hallway mobs.

By third period he had also been sought out and flirted with by at least three of the girls who hadn't glanced at him twice last year, and by another five who were new to the school. And every single one of them had been in full makeup and despicable clothes; in fact, most of the girls he had seen in the halls and in his classes were like that. So it was a glorious relief when he walked inside the gym and saw Leslie, his Leslie, the one girl he knew who would never try to be like anyone else, waving him over to where she was sitting in the bleachers. Happily he climbed his way up the stands, collapsing next to her and throwing his backpack down on the bench below him.

"You're alive," Leslie told him, smiling.

"I am," Jess answered. Just being close to her in the midst of the battlefield they called school warmed him through with comfort. "I see you haven't been abducted."

"I know you're disappointed."

Jess let out a chuckle, which turned almost instantly into a groan as a girl—Rachel—from his second period science class, waved and blew a kiss at him, her friends giggling next to her. "So tell me, how many people have looked _you_ up and down today?"

"Aw, has the king found suitors?" Leslie asked sweetly and Jess snorted. "Do the lovely maidens beseech your hand?"

"_Lovely_?" Jess said, disgusted. "Every one of those girls down there is far from being _lovely_."

Leslie laughed at him. "So you judge on looks, huh?"

"I do not."

"Then what's the matter with Rachel, Jess?"

"What's the _matter_ with her?" Jess said in horror.

"Come on, Jess, I was kidding."

"She's cruel," Jess went on. "She talks about everyone behind their backs. Even her friends. I heard her spreading a rumor to practically my whole Spanish class about that brunette she's sitting with…that one, right there? She was saying that her friend slept with like six guys over the summer and one of them was Rachel's boyfriend."

Leslie's smile faded. "Point made."

"You know what, though? I bet that rumor is true. Her friend looks like a prostitute."

"God, Jess," Leslie said, looking at him with amused eyes. "Did you have a rough morning or something?"

Jess laughed. It felt good to laugh at that moment. "Or something."

"Seriously? Come on, how many girls have come up to you?"

"About eight," he shrugged. Leslie chortled. "Well, okay then, how about you?"

"Well, if girls started coming up to me I'd be a little freaked out," Leslie told him, smiling, and Jess rolled his eyes.

"You know what I meant. How many _guys_ have come up to you?"

"I lost count after thirteen," Leslie said easily. Jess looked at her incredulously.

"Don't say it," she said as he opened his mouth. "It's crazy, I know."

"You win," Jess said. "Hey, we should start a contest. Whoever gets hit on or stared at the most by the end of every day wins."

Leslie burst into laughter. "Wins what?" she asked, as the P.E. coach started walking across the gym floor to them.

"Erm…whoever wins gets to drive home that day?" Jess suggested. Then he smiled. "And the loser of the week washes PT."

"That's not too much to do."

"In the bathtub. All by themselves."

Leslie hesitated. Washing PT in a bathtub was torture. Whenever they did wash PT in the bathtub, one of them would usually have to get in the water with the dog and hold him down while the other worked around the arms and hands of the person in the bathtub, scrubbing grime off PT's coat. By the end of the process both of them were equally soaked, despite who had actually been holding onto PT.

"Sounds like that would be hard to do."

"If you don't want to do it, it's okay. I know how much you hate contests and dares and stuff like that."

That got her. Leslie turned to him with her eyes sparkling. She lived for challenges. "Well you better start kissing up to those girls," she told him, nodding to Rachel and her friends. "'Cause I'm winning."

"Done."

"And I have no intension of getting _two_ baths on Saturday."

"You're on."

"Okay, class, listen up!" screamed the coach from the front. His voice was like a shotgun going off in a riot; all it seemed to do was excite people even more. Finally after attempting to get everyone to quiet down for about a minute, he tugged at his throat and pulled out a whistle from under his shirt. He gave two short blasts on it; the whistle pierced the air and everyone abruptly shut up.

"That's better," the coach grunted, putting the whistle back under his shirt. "Now, today is the first day of school, and—"

"No, really?" someone's voice rang out, and everyone laughed. Jess expected the coach to yell again, but instead he chuckled along with the group.

"Sorry, I forgot you lot aren't kindergarteners," he said. "What are you, tenth grade?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Then I'll treat you like sophomores," the coach said earnestly. He made a big deal about switching his smile to a stern frown, then said, "Now, I want everyone here to call me Coach. None of that 'Mister' crap, okay?"

Everyone, including Jess, was starting to think that this teacher wouldn't be so bad, and they were actually being quiet. Coach nodded appreciatively and said, "Good. Now I can actually hear myself talk. So, anyway. Welcome to gym class. I'm sure everyone is _very_ excited to be here, and I'm sure you're all _dying_ to go to the locker rooms and change into sweaty old gym clothes—" There was a ripple of amused chortles as well as some disgusted murmurs, "—but unfortunately we won't start changing out until next week. But you all are going to be here on time every day, understood? By this time in a couple of weeks you'll all be waiting at your numbers fully dressed when I come out."

"Do we have to shower?" asked an overweight girl in a baggy shirt and pigtails. The group of girls up front who had giggled at Jess giggled again now, this time at her. Beside him, Leslie made a little cluck of her tongue in sympathy.

"You don't have to," Coach said kindly. "But it is recommended. And we're going to be doing some _fun_ sports!" he said with fresh enthusiasm, addressing the whole group now. "You'll all be sweaty and gasping for breath every day when you all arrive back in the locker rooms. Now, before the pig at the front desk calls me up—" Everyone laughed; they hated the evil secretary, "—let me do attendance. Let's see…" He got out his clipboard. "Who's the lucky guy who will be first…? Jess Aarons! Where are you?"

"Here," Jess said, raising a hand. Coach pointed the pencil at him and announced, "Congratulations! First of third period."

"I," Jess said seriously, "am _very_ honored." The girls in front giggled again, batting their eyelashes in his direction. Jess looked to Leslie for approval; she chuckled quietly, whether at him or the girls, Jess couldn't tell. Coach beamed at him and went back to his checklist.

"Kert Adamson?"

"Yo."

"Daniel Bertford?"

"Dan."

"Leslie Burke?"

"Present," Leslie said brightly. At her voice, Coach raised his eyes from his clipboard.

"First girl of third period! What a coincidence, right next to each other….Lizzy Combs?"

"Let's see, Mr. First," Leslie whispered to Jess as Coach moved on. "One, two, three, four, five, six—"

"Okay, so you _might_ be driving home today," Jess muttered back. At least half of the class, mostly guys, was staring at her, some gazing openly, most trying hard to tear their eyes off her then looking back every few seconds. He noticed that the girls in the front bleachers were giving her death looks. "But those girls down there don't count for you."

"What, them?" Leslie smiled cheerfully and gave a little wave to Rachel, her prostitute friend, and the other girls surrounding them; their eyes narrowed down to slits and they huffily looked away, whispering ferociously. "I think I'm still winning."

"Yeah, right," Jess said, grinning, but he didn't kid himself. Even Coach was casting admiring glances toward Leslie.

After third period came lunch. Once they were out in the inner courtyard Jess automatically headed over toward the cafeteria, but Leslie held him back.

"Are you crazy?" she asked him. "We'd get killed in there."

Jess thought about the uproar in the hallways, thought about it being packed into a single room, then shuddered. "Good point."

"You brought a lunch, right?"

"Yeah."

Leslie looked intensely relieved. "Let's stay away from the lunchroom until we're used to all this."

"Sounds good," Jess said. They walked a little bit away from the gym then collapsed on a bench where there was no one around. They threw their backpacks at their feet and took out their food.

"This day," said Jess as he unwrapped a sandwich, "has officially sucked."

"It could have been worse," Leslie told him consolingly.

"How?"

"Lots of ways," Leslie said. She bit into an apple. "We could have been trampled. Someone could have shot at us. We could have teachers who belt us. Those guys walking around here all dressed in black could have beaten us up."

"You noticed them, too?" Jess asked, taking a sip of water.

"Who _didn't_ notice them? That one guy had a _lip_ ring."

"I know."

Jess saw five or six more people with lip rings by the time he arrived at seventh period. He was mentally and physically worn out from all the taunts he had received from old classmates and from all the girls who tried to talk to him, and again his only relief was that Leslie was with him; he got to the classroom first and saved a seat; when she did show up a minute or two before the bell Leslie looked as exhausted as he felt.

"Last period," she said, smiling wearily as she sat down next to him. Students were filing in the room, talking loudly. "And then today's over."

"Yeah. And only a hundred seventy-nine days left." He saw two of Rachel's friends wave at him and call out, "Hi, Jess," across the room. He nodded to show that he had heard them then turned back to Leslie.

"There's two more," he told her, smiling. "Am I still losing now?"

Leslie opened her mouth to respond, then she shut it abruptly. Jess frowned.

"What?" he asked, and she nodded to the door. Jess looked over. One of the guys dressed in black that he had been avoiding in the hallways had just walked into the classroom. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and a dark expression on his face, as though the world's mission was to make his life miserable.

"Oh, great, we've got part of the hardcore in our class," Jess snorted, turning back to Leslie. For some reason she had gone quiet.

"Er…Leslie?"

"That's Trent," she said softly. She scooted her chair back a little bit so that she was directly behind Jess. "He's in my math class. He…" Her voice faded, then she quickly brought it back. "Look at his eyes. He wouldn't stop staring at me. The whole period."

Jess looked at him again. Trent kicked aside a chair farthest from the teacher's desk, stumbled into it, then slammed his bag on the floor. He looked around the room in irritation. He saw Leslie.

"Doesn't talk much, does he?" muttered Jess as Trent fixed his eyes solely on her. His eyes were piercing, and even though Trent was staring _past_ him Jess felt a shiver go down his spine. He scooted his chair back and glared at him. Trent blinked, then rapidly looked away.

"Okay, then. Is everyone here? This is sophomore English, seventh period. Everyone's in the right class now, right? Okay, so my name is Mr. Bell—"

"He acts like I'm not even here," Jess said angrily as Trent looked back toward them again. Jess turned to Leslie. "I bet he…Leslie?"

Leslie's eyes were wide. She kept glancing from Trent to the teacher and back, not rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of it all, but looking, to Jess's astonishment, fearful.

"Leslie?" asked Jess quietly.

"I'm fine," Leslie told him. She attempted to smile as though it was nothing, and she quickly looked away from Trent and at Jess. "So, I…I guess this means I'm driving the truck home today, right?"

OOO

Leslie drove the truck home that day.

By the time they got out of the parking lot, twenty minutes had passed from when the last bell rang and to when the crossing guard at the front waved them through the intersection. Jess and Leslie were silent as Leslie steered the truck around other cars, not staying close to the speed limit as Jess usually did, but flying over it. But she steered so carefully and braked so easily her speed didn't seem to matter.

Finally when they were about halfway home, Jess burst out angrily.

"Doesn't that bother you?" he asked. "He wouldn't stop staring. At all!"

"Really, Jess? I didn't know."

"He had no respect, no…I don't know, what he _didn't_ have… God! He could have at least _said_ something! Like, 'Hi, Leslie, I'm Trent. I've been gawking at you this whole day and I was wondering if you wanted to do—'"

Leslie cast glaring eyes at him, taking her eyes off the road completely, and Jess cowered down.

"…'do…uh…do…lunch.'"

Leslie looked back onto the road and turned on the blinker. "I can't imagine he'd be happy if I said no."

"I can't imagine he'd be happy if you said _yes_," muttered Jess. "He looks like he's never had a good day in his life."

"Just stop, Jess," Leslie said with a reassuring smile as she turned onto the dirt road. "Don't freak out; he'll…hey, the bulldozer's gone!"

It was. Jess was so used to it being there that its absence seemed odd. Nevertheless, it was good that everything was back to normal. He grinned.

"They must have taken it downtown."

"Phew," Leslie said, smiling for real now.

They pulled into Jess's driveway and Leslie parked the truck next to the house. Jess could hear Brenda yelling inside. She and Ellie commuted from their community college, and always found something to complain about by the time they got home.

"Let's go to Terabithia," Jess said suddenly and was happy to see Leslie nod eagerly. He wasn't in the mood to hear Brenda and Ellie whining.

They got out of the truck and, leaving their backpacks in the backseat, started running down the dirt road toward the forest. Today they needed Terabithia more then ever.

"Well, King Jess, we have survived our first day back," Leslie said as they entered the woods. "We can make it this year. It can't be too hard."

"Yeah, right," Jess said to her. But being away from school and about to enter their kingdom, Jess felt like he could believe her. Maybe they _could_ survive the wild jungle their high school had transformed into.

"Like I said, it could have been worse," Leslie said.

Jess turned around and walked backwards so he could face her. "Like how?" he asked. "Oh, I know! Maybe you could have been _stared_ at all seventh period—"

"Jess—"

"And speaking of class periods, every single teacher of ours _couldn't_ have given us homework we could stack a foot high—"

"Jess," Leslie sighed. "We'll get through our homework, like we always do. Okay? And Trent's just some…some…"

"Freak," spat Jess, nearly tripping over a log. They were almost at the creek.

"No, he's…listen, he'll stop; I know he will."

"Are you sure?"

"Honestly, Jess. You'd think that—"

Suddenly she stopped talking. She stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes got wide.

"What?" Jess said, halting. She didn't answer. She was looking over Jess's shoulder with horror in her eyes. Jess turned around, and what he saw made his stomach turn over.

Their bridge was destroyed. The faithful, wondrous bridge that had served as their entrance to Terabithia for six years was completely destroyed. The tree that made the foundation was uprooted and down in the creek, parallel to the bank, and splinters of wood were scattered at the bottom of the water, gathered by rocks. Around the land where they walked onto the bridge, the bits of trees and lumber Jess had so carefully wielded together were broken apart. And the worst of all was that their sign "Nothing Crushes Us" was ripped in two, buried halfway in the mud and a stain of what looked like red spray paint down one of the pieces.

For minutes, hours, even days might have passed and Jess wouldn't have known, they stayed silent.

"Oh, my God," Leslie gasped finally, her voice high. Her chest was heaving, as though the ghastly sight was enough to stop her lungs from working properly. "Oh. My. God."

Jess himself was feeling rather dizzy. He stared at the remains of his bridge in astonishment, his mind spinning.

"Who could have done this?" Leslie said in a whisper after what seemed like a century had passed. She walked slowly toward the ruins, as though they were wild animals that could grab her at any second. "Who could have _possibly_…?"

Jess followed her. He picked up the pieces of the sign he had painted six years ago, heart thumping. "It's the Dark Master," he said, trying to make sense of it all. "I bet he—"

"No," Leslie whispered. They were both talking very softly. "It's something much, _much_ worse then that."

"Like what?" Jess said in amazement.

"Like…like..." Leslie fell silent, obviously looking for a better description. Suddenly she gasped. "Like _that_!"

Jess turned to see where she was pointing, across the creek and slightly shadowed within the forest. For the first time in a long time he could see what Leslie was seeing without her having to point it out to him first.

It was the bulldozer.

Leslie charged downwards toward the creek; Jess threw down the sign and sprinted after her.

"Leslie!" he said loudly. "Be careful!"

"We can't get across," Leslie said helplessly. She was right. There was no way to get from one side of the creek to the other without swimming.

"Maybe the water's calmer downstream," Jess said, and he actually turned toward the direction where the water was going. But Leslie shook her head.

"We're going to have to swim anyway," she told him. Her voice was fearful. "Might as well go in here."

The water was almost as high as their heads, and it was freezing cold and in the early September chill, it numbed Jess over within seconds. They hurriedly tore through the plants on the other side and sprinted, dripping, toward the bulldozer. Jess put his hand on it. It was the same bulldozer that had been on the dirt road for the last two months.

"No," Leslie whispered, shaking her head. "No, no, Jess…you told me that they were tearing down forests back _there_." She pointed behind her, apparently not caring that she wasn't being specific.

"They were," Jess said in a hoarse tone. "For homes, for some real estate company, but, but…."

Suddenly his heart skipped several beats.

"They didn't say where they were making the clothing store," he finished quietly.

They were quiet. Leslie kept her eyes on the bulldozer, looking horror-struck.

"It might not be, you, know, around our tree house, or anything," said Jess, whose teeth were starting to chatter. He knew he was giving himself and Leslie false hope. "It could be—"

"The stronghold!" cried Leslie and suddenly she bolted, running into the forest as fast as her legs could carry her. Jess sprinted after her, both of them dripping water on the trees and their breath coming out of their mouths like steam.

Their tree house was still standing. But the trees around it were spray painted an ugly, hideous red color. There were blue markings all over the ground and the tree that the Squogres always leapt at them from, plus a couple of others, had orange tape around it. Wooden planks were sticking up out of the ground.

Leslie sat down on the earth. She was trembling and there were tears in her eyes.

"No," she whispered again. "No…no…they can't…."

Jess sat down next to her. He was shivering, too, though not as much from the cold…his heart was hammering and his mind seemed to be malfunctioning with fight. He tried to think of any other reason as to why the bulldozer would have crushed their bridge and spray painted the land that was Terabithia.

_There is no other reason_, the little voice inside of his mind said.

Jess sighed heavily. For some reason all he could think of was that there was one way to get rid of some of the awful feelings inside him.

"Leslie?" he said, turning his head so he was looking at her.

"Yeah?" Even her voice was shaky.

"I'm sorry I freaked out about Trent."

Leslie turned her head, too, blue-green eyes still full of a kind of horrified sadness. Suddenly they filled with tears. "I know," she said quietly. Jess softly brushed some of her wet hair away from her face, and she reached up and put her hand on Jess's. An understanding.

She didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

They sat there in silence, gazing at the tape and the paint and the wooden planks driven into the earth like stakes driven into a beating heart. Leslie laid her head on his shoulder and Jess absentmindedly traced her fingers with his, wondering whether or not their day could possibly get any worse.

* * *

**So again, I am sorry for this chapter. I really am. But it must be written.**

**The high school "problems" that Jess and Leslie must undergo are not just made up, they are based on one of my old high school's experiences that I had for half of my freshman year, and the ordeals that the two will continue to go through—particularly Leslie—are mostly experiences that have happened to me. So I would really not rather hear any "High schools aren't really like that!" in your reviews, if you could be so kind. :D But as for any other irritations you might have, feel free to go on and on in your reviews as long as you'd like. (Just no flames, please!)**

**Speaking of going on and on, I will stop doing so now. Thank you very much again for reading this far and for taking the time to review (And also, all you anonymous reviewers to whom I can't respond to: stormyseas, Abby, Ali, and Sunburst, thank you, too! I appreciate you guys a lot. And stormyseas, don't be sorry for nitpicking! I'm glad you pointed out the "then" and "than" mistakes for me!). Hopefully I will see everyone again next chapter!**

**Okay. :::::Takes deep breath::::: Bring on the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's an update! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Mr. Aarons?" 

Jess raised his head from his drawing, blinking. His entire class was staring at him.

"Mr. Aarons, I asked you a question."

Jess sat up a little in his chair and looked at his math teacher, confused. "Huh?"

"I _asked_ you a _question_," his teacher barked at him.

"Er…sorry, what was the question?" The class sniggered.

His teacher rolled her eyes irritably. "How would you solve _this_ problem," she pointed to the board, "using the distance formula?"

Jess blinked at the arrangement of numbers, mind completely blank. "Um…you would…uh…."

"Next time I call on you, Mr. Aarons, be so kind as to be _paying_ _attention_, would you?" his teacher snapped. "Ms. Pollsworth, would you mind helping us out here?"

"You would use the coordinates the problem gives you and—"

Jess sighed deeply and put his head back down, abandoning his drawing but still not really listening. Nothing seemed to be working right in his head. It was the last day of the second week of school and he felt as though he had been in school for a year.

"Stay after, Mr. Aarons," his teacher howled over the students when the bell rang. Jess gritted his teeth and stayed in his seat while the rest of his class hurried out the door. When there was no one left in the room, his teacher gave him a packet of math problems.

"For you," she said. "This is the third time this week I've caught you drawing in class during my teaching. I don't care whether you are Picasso's great-great grandson or something; you _will_ pay attention in my classroom. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jess muttered.

"I want this packet completed by next Tuesday. You have the whole weekend and Monday to finish it – I don't want any excuses."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You aren't a bad kid, Mr. Aarons, compared to a lot of the students here. And I want to ensure that. Okay?"

Jess nodded in irritation.

"Good. You're dismissed."

Jess picked up his bag and walked to the door respectively. Once he had cleared the doorway he broke into a run, anger tight in his chest. He always hurried from math class to English class, to be sure that Trent wasn't in the same room with Leslie too long without him. It was bad enough that she had a class with Trent _before_ English. And now, adding insult to injury, his stupid teacher chose to hold _him_ back when he wasn't the only one not paying attention, giving _him_ at least fifty problems to do.

_Life is not fair_, Jess decided as he ran into the classroom a minute before the late bell. His math teacher had delayed him so that he got to the classroom when mostly everyone else was already there, including Trent. Jess hurried toward Leslie and sat down, as he always did, between her and Trent's piercing eyes.

"Look," Leslie whispered to him after Jess had collapsed in his chair. She scooted over a piece of paper onto his desk. "It was on the bulletin board in the attendance office."

Jess looked at it. _Miranda's Outfitting!_ it said at the top of the page in bright, cheerful letters. _Coming soon to Lark Creek! Call 555-8204 for details_.

"You're sure that's it?"

"Positive," Leslie said. "We've sought out every other clothing store possible, and there aren't any ones that have bought land around here. I looked online today."

"So this is who we call."

Leslie nodded as the bell rang. "This is who we call."

OOO

As both Jess and Leslie had hoped, Judy and Bill went out that night. Every Friday evening they were usually welcomed over to a friend's house where they talked writing strategy late into the night, often not coming back home until midnight. After Jess saw the Burke's car pull onto the dirt road from his front window, he went into the living room to his parents.

"I'm going over to Leslie's house."

"Okay," Nancy said, who was reading a book. "You guys going downtown tonight?"

"No. Leslie was going to help me with my math."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," Jack told him.

"My teacher gave me an extra packet."

"Did she, now?" Jack asked, eyeing Jess carefully. "So you're going to work on it Friday night when you've got the whole weekend ahead of you to finish it?"

Jess shrugged. "Leslie said I should finish homework as soon as possible," he said, trying to sound innocent. "That way I don't have to do it last minute."

"Well, she's right," Nancy said, turning a page in her book.

Jack shook his head, chuckling. "Well, if this is how you want to spend Friday nights..."

"Be back by a decent hour, okay, Jess?" said Nancy.

"Okay," Jess said, heading for the door.

"Have fun doing _math_," Jack called after him.

"But not too much fun," Ellie added from the table, and Jess bumped her chair on his way out, causing her to protest in irritation.

Leslie already had the paper and the phone in front of her on the counter when Jess walked through her screen door into her kitchen. She looked up as he came in.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Jess answered. "Ready for _math_?"

Leslie snorted. "Of course," she said. "Today we're using _special_ numbers. And they are a couple of fives, an eight, a two…."

Jess laughed.

"Yeah, that was my excuse, too," Leslie said. "Can your parents see us through windows if we stay here?"

"Maybe if they walked by on the road."

"Let's go in the living room." She picked up the phone and the paper and they walked through the hallway. "I don't think they'd like what we're doing."

They stared at the paper for a few minutes after they sat on the couch. "So...what are we going to say?" Jess asked finally.

"We're going to ask for an appointment with Miranda. Or at least get some information."

"There's no way the actual namesake of the store will have time to talk to us."

"Then we make an appointment with one of her representatives," Leslie said. "Do you want to talk, or should I?"

"You're better at it," Jess told her and Leslie nodded and dialed the number. "Use a different name," he said. "Just in case."

"Okay," she said, holding the phone to her ear. "Here goes nothing," she added quietly as the phone rang. Jess leaned in closer so he could hear.

"Miranda's Outfitting," a man's bored voice said after three rings.

"Hello," Leslie said professionally. "My name is Katie, and I live in Lark Creek."

"Um-hmm."

"May I speak to someone regarding the construction that's taking place in our town?"

There was a short pause, and Jess could almost hear the shock of the man; the guy probably had been expecting a whole other question. Finally he said, "I am the corporate assistant for the job."

Leslie looked at Jess nervously. "Well, would you be responsible for buying the land that your company is building on?"

"I've had a hand in it."

"We want to ask whether or not the property you purchased was public or private."

The man didn't speak for a moment or two. Then he continued, "I beg your pardon?"

"We're aware that the property you're building on is private property," Leslie said, and Jess knew she was thinking fast. "There are fields that develop into the forest you are building on, and my neighbor Tom Strellgate owns those fields. I'm asking whether or not the land you purchased belonged to Mr. Strellgate, too."

There was yet another second of silence. "Please hold," the man said, and there was a soft click. Jess and Leslie waited in silence for five minutes straight, but no one picked up the phone again.

"Dammit," Jess muttered as Leslie hung up.

"Don't say that word," Leslie said, smacking him across the shoulder. "God…they could have at least given us a different number or something…."

"You know what? The land has to belong to Tom Strellgate, now that you mention it," Jess said, rubbing his shoulder. Tom Strellgate was an old farmer who plowed the fields they raced across to get to Terabithia. He lived in an old abandoned cabin across from the woods. "They just didn't want to tell us."

"That could be why they hung up on us," Leslie said angrily.

"Maybe…" Jess said, having just realized something, "maybe Strellgate _sold_ them the land."

"_Dammit_," said Leslie loudly, and Jess grabbed the phone from her.

"Don't say that word," he told her in a mock stern tone, and she rolled her eyes. "Okay. Let's call them again. I'll talk this time."

Now Leslie leaned in toward him so she could hear. Jess dialed then waited for the man to answer.

"Miranda's Outfitting," said the man's voice through the phone.

"Hi," Jess said. "My friend just called you, and you put us on hold but never picked back up."

"Did I, now?" the man said. He still didn't sound like he was the least bit interested in the conversation. "My apologies."

"We were asking about the land you purchased in Lark Creek," Jess said, hoping he sounded as professional as Leslie. "We were wondering if we could set up an appointment or something, to talk to either you or one of Miranda's representatives, about the property you're building on. Or if you could tell us who you bought the property from that would be great, too."

The man was silent. "Please hold," he said.

"No, we will _not_ please hold," Leslie said suddenly, grabbing the phone from Jess. "We want to talk to someone about this land purchase _now_,and since you seem to have no information, we would appreciate it if you handed the phone over to someone who does."

Jess smiled at Leslie in awe, as there again was silence on the other line. Then there was some muffled talking, some thuds, then a woman started speaking on the other line. "This is Kelsey Thomas. How can I help you?"

Leslie nodded to Jess, and Jess cleared his throat. "Hello," he said. "Are you in charge of the purchase of land here in Lark Creek? For the store 'Miranda's Outfitting'?"

"Yes, sir, I am," the woman said in a sweet tone. "Who is this?"

"This is Charlie," Jess said, borrowing his cousin's name, "and I live not too far away from where you're building your store. My friend and I want to know who you bought the land from."

"Whom we bought the land from?" Ms. Thomas gave a little laugh. "What an interesting question."

"Could you answer it?"

Leslie bit her lip, clearly holding herself back.

"Mr.…er, Charlie, the land is our property."

"Yes, but we wanted to know who the land belonged to before you got the rights to build on it. And if it's possible, could you tell us how soon you plan to develop on it?"

"Develop?" Ms. Thomas asked, tone sugary. "You mean _build_, perhaps?"

"I thought they meant the same."

"Of course they do, dear. We plan to build on the property within two months or so."

"But who did the land belong to before?"

"Didn't I just say, Charlie? The land is our property."

"We under_stand_ that," Leslie blurted out into the phone before Jess could speak. "But we wanted to know—"

"Now who is this, speaking?"

"Katie," Leslie said clearly. "And we both are curious as to whose land it was that you purchased, the land that you're building 'Miranda's Outfitting' on."

Ms. Thomas laughed again. "Pardon me, sweetie. You two don't sound old enough to be concerned about matters like what land we buy to build stores on."

"Well, we are," Jess said. "Do you know who Mr. Tom Strellgate is?"

"No, young man, I'm afraid I don't."

Leslie and Jess looked at each other. "Then could you please answer our question?" Leslie asked in a very forced polite tone. "From whom did you buy the land from?"

"I thought I made it very clear, young lady, that the land is ours."

"We _know_ that," Leslie said through gritted teeth. "But it had to belong to someone before."

"Well, if that land _did_ belong to someone previously," said Ms. Thomas, speaking as though they were five years old, "then they have long left Lark Creek. Sweetheart, all my workers found when they were marking the property was a little tree house and some sort of tree bridge going across the creek—"

"Yeah, that was _our_ bridge," Jess said, temper firing up inside of him. "And it took me days to build that."

"I am _ever_ so sorry," Ms. Thomas said, not sounding sorry whatsoever. "But the land that we are building on is our property, honey. We had every right to tear your little bridge down."

"It wasn't your property six years ago when the bridge was built," Leslie said hotly into the phone.

"Children, children, listen to yourselves. Getting worked up about us building on our own property—"

"How do we know it's your property?" Jess asked angrily. "Was the land public, then? How did you get the rights to build?"

There was a buzzing silence on the other end of the line. "We...we…" Ms. Thomas finally stuttered, then she cleared her throat and picked up right where she had left off. "Now you two listen to me. I don't know what you might have been hearing—"

"If you don't know who the land belonged to before you purchased it…" Leslie spat, then she trailed off. "Wait, you can't have _purchased_ it—"

"—if there was no one you contacted in the first place!" Jess finished in shock.

"I don't know what you kids are talking about," Ms. Thomas said. She didn't sound warm and friendly now. "The land is ours, period, end of story. We have already—"

"The land isn't _yours_," Leslie said furiously. "You _stole_ it!"

"You are jumping to conclusions, little girl," Ms. Thomas snapped. "I would love to chat longer but unlike you, children, we are very busy here at our quarters."

"Don't you dare—"

_Click_. Then all they heard was the dial tone.

Leslie slammed down the phone into the couch. "Dammit!" she and Jess said at the same time.

"I can't believe her," breathed Leslie. She was livid. "She stole the land. They don't have a contract to build…they don't have anything…they just stole the land from someone…."

"She stole _our_ land from _us_," Jess spoke over her. "If anyone has a right to that property, _we_ do."

"Don't you get it, Jess? _Terabithia_ is our land. But Terabithia is on someone else's property!" Leslie was trembling, she was so mad. "She stole the land! They stole it!"

"Calm down," Jess said, even as his anger raged inside him like a storm.

"Calm down?" shrieked Leslie. "They are going to _destroy_ Terabithia illegally and you want me to _calm_ _down_?!"

"The land could have been public," Jess said, trying to make sense of it all.

"If the land was public then she's trespassing on _our_ property," Leslie snarled. Jess flinched; Leslie was deadly when she was this angry. "If anyone owns that property it's _us_."

Jess didn't think it smart to speak.

"And if she _honestly_ thinks she can _tear_ down _our _land…" Leslie seethed. She shook her head, glaring at the paper with the phone number on it. "Who does that woman think she is?"

"It's not like she knows about Terabithia," Jess said, regretting the words even as they came out of his mouth. Leslie turned to him, looking like a predator about to attack its victim.

"Of course she doesn't know about Terabithia," she shot at him. "But does that make it okay for her to build? Ms. Thomas wouldn't tell us who the land belonged to, right? And do you know why that is? It still belongs to whoever owns it…she's just building on it illegally, without them knowing it!"

"It could have been public," Jess said. "And I'm not stupid; I can figure out why Ms. Thomas wouldn't say who the land belongs to, so you don't have to snap at me."

"I'm not snapping at you," Leslie snapped at him; then she caught herself. She froze for a second, then she sighed and put a hand to her temple, sinking back into the couch in exasperation. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Jess said nothing; his head was spinning too much. "Are we sure that that woman doesn't own the property legally?" he asked finally.

"She didn't tell us who she took the land from," Leslie said again, brow furrowed in concentration. She was a little calmer now, as Jess was relieved to see. "And she never heard of Mr. Strellgate. So either she ordered construction on the property, without the permission of the owner, or the land must have been public. And she took over it."

They were quiet. PT came padding into the room.

"So what you're saying," Jess clarified as PT jumped on the couch between them, "is that either that company is building illegally, or the property is…just...up for grabs?"

"Pretty much," Leslie said unhappily, scratching PT behind the ears.

Jess sighed heavily and leaned back against the couch as well. "It's _our_ property. It has been for six years."

"I know," said Leslie, eyes downcast. "I know."

They were silent again. PT yawned and put his head on his paws.

"So we find out who owns it," Leslie said suddenly. Jess looked over toward her.

"What do you mean?"

"We find out who owns the land Terabithia is on," Leslie said, fire in her eyes. "And if no one owns it then we have a right to be on it. And _they_ had no right to destroy our bridge."

"Leslie, they already have the bulldozer there and everything," Jess said desperately. "And they've spray painted the whole joint and have got the trees marked…"

"So?"

"Are you saying we can stop it? I guess we could go to someone and they can investigate—"

"We could do that," Leslie said. "But what if it turns out that the land _was_ public? Then Ms. Thomas will have every right to build on it."

"But it's _our_ land. We were on it long before that woman set foot onto it!"

"Exactly," Leslie told him.

"So…what do we do?"

Leslie thought for a moment, then a mischievous grin spread across her face. "King Jess," she said to him. "What do we do when an enemy wanders onto _our_ territory uninvited?"

Jess stared at her.

Leslie turned her head and looked at him, determination sparkling in her eyes. "We fight."

* * *

**All right, first and foremost I must thank the amazing reviewers who all have given me so much encouragement. So...thank you! You all are wonderful. And to the anonymous reviewers: (there are lots of them! Yay!) Ali, HarleyQuinn, Lillianthia, LostPrincess, magicalsongbird, and blink6966, you all are awesome. Thank you so much for telling me what you think of this story! It means a lot to me; thanks for taking the time to review!**

**Now, about the story…I'm not 100 percent sure about the legal "rights" a company must have to build on property, but I finally figured that if they didn't have a contract that it wouldn't be legal for them to build. So next chapter, you'll find out whether the land Terabithia is on was really owned property, or if it's public and open for anyone to use. In the meantime, I hope that I haven't confused anyone. :D**

**I can't promise any quick updates because I'm having a little trouble with the other plots this story is going to start having. But I can promise that I will update as soon as I can!**

**Thank you for reading! And please review this chapter, too!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so sorry about the slow update! If you've visited my profile lately you'll know that my Microsoft Word program had gone all weird (it still is, as a matter of fact) so I didn't know how to get to my files or work on this fanfic. But I did write some stuff down on paper and once my dad installed another program that would sort of replace Word, I was able to type everything down and work on this next chapter and update... (though the quotations are kind of weird in some places now...wow...random... okay, anyway...)**

****

Okay, just had to let that out. :D I'll talk to you at the end of this; enjoy!

* * *

Before Jess left that night both of them came to an agreement: neither of them—under any circumstance—was going to tell anyone what they were up to. 

"If our parents find out what we're going to do," Leslie explained to him, "they'd lock us in our rooms until the end of high school to make sure we don't blow anything up."

"We're not going to blow anything up, are we?" Jess asked, looking at Leslie with disbelief.

Leslie smiled grimly. "If we have to."

Her eyes hadn't stopped burning since she started making battle plans—Jess sitting in shock for pretty much all of them—all directed against Ms. Thomas and everyone and everything having to do with the construction. Jess wisely decided against speaking against some of her plans.

"So this is what we're going to do," she had finally finished, speaking more to herself then to Jess. "We'll go to Terabithia tomorrow and take down all the stakes and mess up the spray paint on the ground until we know for certain that they don't really own the land…."

Jess sat there and watched her, his heart beating as it sunk in…if they didn't do anything, Terabithia would be destroyed…

But it couldn't be…

"Leslie?" he had asked quietly after a while. She made no notice of him.

"And we're probably going to have to get everything out of the tree house because if they destroyed the bridge—"

"Leslie," Jess said, louder, and she turned to him.

"What?"

"What if the land really is theirs?"

Leslie looked at him, sighing.

"Then we beg for them to move somewhere else," she said, shrugging. "Or get whoever owned the land before to cancel the contract."

Jess gave her a half smile. "Sounds like war."

"For six years that place has been almost everything we lived for, and I'll be damned before they start destroying it all just so we can have more _clothes_ in Lark Creek." Leslie sounded lethal.

"But, it's just…" Jess said quietly. "Just…." He didn't know what to say.

"Jess, I will do anything it takes to save Terabithia," Leslie told him firmly, looking directly into his eyes. "I don't care what I have to do. I will do anything."

"I know." He didn't doubt her for an instant.

"And if you are who I know you are, you will, too," Leslie said, satisfied with his answer.

Jess walked back into his house that night, after Leslie had scribbled down some answers on his homework so it looked like they had actually done math, wondering dimly what kind of lengths he _would _go to to save Terabithia. He would do everything possible, for certain, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew whatever he tried to do, Leslie would make efforts hundreds of times more severe...

When Jess walked through his door and locked it behind him, he heard his dad call from the living room, "That you, Jess?"

"Yeah," Jess called back. He walked into the room and saw May Belle and Joyce Ann sitting on either side of his father on the couch; the three of them were watching a movie.

"You should watch this with us," May Belle said, as Joyce Ann questioned, "Where were you?"

"Leslie's," Jess answered, standing at the doorway

"How did _math_ go?" Jack asked easily, looking up at Jess.

"Wha—? Oh, yeah, math. It went fine." He yawned.

"Let's see that packet," Jack said, hitting pause on the movie. Jess gave him the worksheets.

"Not a lot done," his father observed.

"Yeah, well, I'm bad at it," Jess told him.

"I bet Leslie was getting annoyed," May Belle told him smugly.

"As a matter of fact, she was not," Jess said, frowning at her. "She said I was getting better."

"Can she help me with _my_ homework tomorrow?" Joyce Ann asked.

"No, we've got stuff to do tomorrow."

"Like what?" his little sister demanded.

"School stuff," Jess lied. He took back his packet. "I'm going up to bed."

"Well, good night," Jack shrugged as Joyce Ann scowled. "See you in the morning before you do your _school _stuff."

Jess glared at his dad and his little sisters snickered. "Good night!" they said.

He replied somewhat bitterly then he turned and walked toward the staircase. As he climbed the stairs he heard Brenda and Ellie in their room, talking as usual, but it was the fact that their voices were quieter and more distressed that made Jess stop in curiosity to listen in.

"...why you just don't _tell_ them, Brenda...?"

"You freaking know why I couldn't! Stop asking me to...!"

"Well, they're gonna take it a lot worse if you wait—"

"Take what a lot worse?" Jess asked as he poked his head in the door. He was startled to see that Brenda was crying; Ellie was on her bed trying to comfort her. They both looked up in alarm as he walked in.

"Go away!" Brenda yelled and Ellie, snarling, got up and slammed the door in his face. Jess stood there in shock for a moment, then he turned on his heel and went into his room, confused.

"How is it that girls go from fine to furious in a matter of seconds?" he muttered to no one in particular, flinging his math packet on his bed.

OOO

By the time they had been in school for a month, it was the beginning of October and the air temperature had lowered so that fall clothes came out again, more people started coming to school drunk so they could escape the chill, and Coach started making them run outside even more.

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" he would say cheerfully as he led the shivering group outdoors on the track. "Now go take a lap."

"It's freezing out," someone would usually complain. Sure, Coach might have been cold-blooded, but the rest of them, in PE shorts and T-shirts, felt like ice cubes, especially the girls. After Coach had tried to pass a school rule for their benefit that would stop the use of gym clothes, all the girls, Leslie included, had revolted against the administration (that had vetoed the idea) by rolling up their shorts and ripping their shirts, showing as much skin as fully possible while wearing their gym uniforms. Because the guys rebelled by hanging their gym clothes on the flagpole whenever they could, the cold was torture for the girls. No one would relent, mostly because they all knew Coach admired their efforts. However, being on the good side of the principle and staff was a necessity for keeping a job.

"Running will warm you up," Coach would always answer them, smiling sadly. "Now, those who walk get two laps. Let's get at it!"

Leslie would heave a yawn and start trotting down the track. The rest of the group, grumbling, usually followed her. Jess would hear the couch clap appreciatively.

"We've got someone who doesn't mind the cold! 'Atta girl, Burke! Let's go, everyone! Faster! Faster!"

Jess liked gym class. Not only was he with Leslie, which was a good thing within itself, but he liked Coach, who always waved his hands when he talked and made everything sound like fun, even being in the locker rooms.

"This place smells like something's died in here," he shouted once while the guys were changing. "I heard the girl's locker room smells like roses. Why do I have to live in a place that smells like a slaughterhouse?"

"I say we raid the girls' locker room," sniggered one of the guys, followed by hoots. Jess looked to the coach to see how he would react, but the coach just smiled.

"I'll tell you what we'll do. When all the girls are gone me and some of you guys will sneak in there and leave 'em all our dirty socks on their benches."

"I say that if we suffer from the stench, they do, too!" yelled someone from across the room and everyone shouted in agreement.

That day had been memorable. Leslie, for her part, was laughing along with the guys by the time she came out of the girl's locker room, but the majority of the girls were furious and disgusted.

"That could work," Leslie said thoughtfully at lunch that day. "Using smells to ward them off. No one would buy clothes in a place that stinks, right?"

Jess nodded and made sure no one was around them to overhear. "Yeah, well, what would we use for our amo?"

"Get everyone's old gym socks," Leslie told him, grinning.

Towards the middle of October and by the time May Belle was arguing with Joyce Ann about going trick-or-treating (for May Belle was convinced that twelve was a ripe old age to be going from house to house dressed in a costume) Leslie and Jess had completely evacuated their tree house. They cleaned out every tin, box, and corner of the place they had practically grown up in and Leslie made Jess tear down the map of Terabithia he had painted when they were ten.

"Leslie, this has hung in our castle for six years," Jess said despairingly as he carefully folded the worn paper and packed it away.

"Would you rather have someone destroy it?" Leslie asked him as PT started chewing on an old apple core. "Don't worry; we'll be putting our stuff back in here in no time. But for now I think it's safer that we take things out before they take down this tree house, too."

"But we don't know when they're going to build."

"They aren't going to build," Leslie said hotly. "We called Ms. Thomas back in September, right? She said that they would start developing within two months. So we've got until November to stop them."

"So as of now, we've got two weeks before they build."

"They're building illegally!" Leslie cried. "They won't be able to build because _we are going to stop them!_"

"Okay, okay..."

"And we're going to find out who _really_ owns, or owned, this land," Leslie said. "That way we'll know who to direct our battle plans against."

"You've got enough to battle against."

Leslie raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

Jess hesitated. By "enough to battle against" he meant Trent, someone who wouldn't be much of a threat had it not been for the way Leslie acted around him. When Trent was near her she was nervous, always shifting around and looking over her shoulder, jumping whenever Jess shook her arm, trying to get her out of her state. She yelled at Jess every time he mentioned Trent's name, which was the reason Jess held himself back now.

"You know, battling against homework...and stuff."

Leslie eyed him carefully, giving him one of her stares that always made Jess very aware of the fact that she knew he was lying, but she said nothing.

"So I was thinking _I_ could find out who owns the land."

Leslie's eyes softened. "How about you go downtown next chance you get, then, and see what you can find. I'll try to talk to Tom Strellgate and see what he knows."

Jack needed his help the next day, however; the greenhouse heater had broken and as it was turning cooler the frost could harm the plants, so Jess had to stay home and help unwire the greenhouse. Leslie came over to borrow his truck.

"Wish me luck," she muttered in Jess's ear before she climbed in the driver's seat. "Some people say that poor man is crazy."

Jess grimaced as she drove away; as ususal she drove fast.

"If you wreck the truck I'll wreck the first car you get!" he called teasingly after her; Leslie rolled her eyes at him and sped away.

"Where is she going?" Jack asked as he, too, watched Leslie drive down the dirt road, turning right rather then left, which was the direction they took to go downtown and to their school. "There's nothing that way but a couple of farms."

Jess shrugged. Jack frowned and looked over at him.

"Are you two hiding something from us?"

"Of course not, Dad," Jess told him, forcing himself to laugh. "What would there be for us to keep a secret about?"

"Lots of things," muttered Jack and he didn't elaborate.

He didn't get anything out of Leslie, either, when she came back about an hour later, gently placing the keys in Jess's hand and giving him a swift look that told him that she had information. Jack smiled at her as she sat down on an unused workbench.

"So, what brought you down by Strellgate's farm?" he asked her casually, as Jess handed him a wrench. "Some people are afraid to get within a hundred yards of his front door."

"That's hard to believe. He's very nice," Leslie said, smiling back. "My mom just wanted me to ask him about some old recipe."

"Recipe?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yeah. Um, about his vegetable soups, or something. He grows all his own plants and I think she...I think she wanted to know how he made them."

"The vegetables?"

"The soup."

"Gotcha," Jack said, nodding. "So his soup must be pretty good."

"So I've heard."

Jess smiled at her efforts; just like she could always tell when he was lying, he could tell when she wasn't telling the truth. Thankfully his father bought the story—or it seemed he did—and he and Jess were able to get the heater working within another half hour so that Jess could escape. Leslie followed after he made their excuses.

"Okay," Jess whispered as soon as they had gone about a hundred feet from the greenhouse, where Jack was still wrapping up, "spill. Fast."

"The land belongs to Tom Strellgate," Leslie said at once.

"Does it?"

"Well, it _did_," Leslie added darkly. "I just talked to him. He said he sold the land to the clothing company."

Jess's heart sank. "So…" he said with a beating heart. "The land belongs to them?"

Leslie smiled. "Well, yeah," she said. "But have you seen any public hearings? They're still building illegally."

"Huh?"

"When a company buys property," Leslie explained to him, "Mr. Strellgate says that they have to hold public hearings before they can buy land."

"What's a public hearing?"

"I'm not really sure," Leslie admitted. "But I know that the company holds a meeting where people from the city attend and give comments to them, or something. And then the people know that land is going to be developed and they can debate about whether or not it should be done."

"So if they had a public hearing we could speak out against the development!"

"Yes," Leslie said patiently, "but _Miranda's Outfitting! _doesn't seem to be holding any public hearings for us to speak out in. And without the hearings, to just build on land, even if you own it, is illegal."

Jess ran a hand through his hair.

"I know, I don't understand it, either."

"So who do we go to confront?"

"I don't know," sighed Leslie, looking at him. "I wish I did."

"Is there an office downtown where—?"

"Shh!" Leslie hissed as Jack came out the greenhouse door. He stopped when he saw them.

"You two planning to make some of Strellgate's soup?" he asked.

"Er...no," Jess said. "We..."

"...were going to do math?" Jack asked as he walked up the steps to the door to the kitchen. "Or maybe some other school stuff?"

Jess and Leslie glanced at each other as Jack chuckled to himself and walked inside.

"He knows," whispered Leslie with wide eyes as the screen door slammed shut.

"No, he doesn't," Jess assured her, at the same time trying to assure himself. "He doesn't know what we're doing."

"If he does..."

"Well, it's not like he'd want something illegal happening!"

"True," Leslie said. "I meant that if he knew about Tera—"

"Don't say it here," Jess said frantically. It was oddly quiet in his kitchen; the windows were open and only the screen door was closed in the door frame. "Look...let's go downtown...see what we can find..."

"If only we knew what we were looking for," Leslie said as they walked over to the truck, and Jess could not have agreed with her more.

OOO

Eventually they decided to do some asking around for information; out of desperation Jess started asking his teachers—who he knew wouldn't rat on him—what they knew about who could be involved in land development. When he asked they all looked at him as though he had announced he was about to grow wings.

"Legal building rights?" Coach repeated back to them in confusion when Jess and Leslie had approached him. "Are you guys looking to build a house somewhere or something?"

"No," Leslie explained, "we're trying to figure out who we can contact _about _legal building rights."

Coach laughed. "Kids your age are concerned about fitting in, beating on everyone else, sleeping with each other, getting drunk," he told them, shaking his head. "And you two want to contact someone in charge of land development here in Lark Creek. I could just hug both of you."

"We're trying to save a piece of land," Jess told his coach; he and Leslie had agreed to share that bit of information with the only teacher they trusted. "It's kind of like our childhood playground."

"It's very special to us," Leslie added.

"Well," Coach said, still beaming at them both, "I don't know who you'd have to contact, but go down to that office on 56th street. It's in front of two big oaks; I remember my neighbor went there to see about his company building another post office around here."

Finally, on the day before Halloween, Jess's history teacher called him up after class and told him the name who she believed was the head of the town council members. He nearly ran to his English class after math, waiting impatiently for Leslie to show up so he could share what he had found out.

"Leslie," he said in excitement when she walked through the door and came over to him. She sat down and he went on, "I've found out who we've got to go to! We have to see..." He trailed off as he looked at Leslie more closely. Something didn't look right; her eyes almost looked scared, and her hair was tousled slightly. "Leslie, what's up?" he asked, frowning. She didn't answer; she stared straight in front of her, obviously seeing nothing she was looking at.

"Leslie?" He tapped her shoulder lightly; to his shock she jumped as though electrocuted and turned on him ferociously.

"_What_?! My God...don't scare me like that! What is it?"

"Uh..." Jess said, confused. She looked alarmed. "Are you okay?"

"Geeze...I'm fine!" Leslie said, a smile spreading over her face so suddenly Jess was taken aback. "Yeah...freaking mobs I have to go through to get here...what were you saying?"

"Er...okay, so I asked my history teacher about who might be in charge of construction here and she said that the town council members would be responsible for overseeing everything the company does...that includes public hearings, you know. Leslie, are you even listening to me?"

Leslie was gazing straight in front of her. It looked to Jess as though she was lost in thought. "Town council members..." she said, so softly Jess could barely hear her. "Which members?"

"She said the name Greg Jacklyn. I'm not sure what she meant by him being the cheif board member but I think he'd be able to help us."

"Hmm..." Leslie mused, still gazing off into space. The bell rang and their teacher locked the door and started talking. As they passed their homework to the front of the room, under the rustle of papers Jess whispered, "Leslie, you sure you're okay?"

Leslie nodded at him, with the same half-smile she always had to give reassurement on her face. "Yeah," she said, and Jess thought nothing more of it, wondering throughout the rest of the period how they were going to find Greg Jacklyn.

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**Argh...Now I must bore you with my novel-long author notes...bear with me here...**

**So for those of you who are convinced that this story is going too slowly...too bad :D Naw, just kidding. All is under control. There was some major foreshadowing in this chapter, after all! **

**All righty, so first as always I have to thank my anonymous reviewers who I can't reply to: oracle3452, PollenandSalt, and HarleyQuinn. You guys leave amazing reviews that help me so much...thank you for taking the time to leave such nice comments for me! I appreciate them so much.**

**And I'd also like to thank MadTom (and also wind-chime146, for your helpful review) for helping me out with the information I sorely lacked regarding legal building rights that companies should have. I'm trying to make this story as realistic as possible so I really appreciate the efforts you made to try and educate some fifteen year old kid on public hearings! Thank you so, so, so much for your help; I needed it badly :D**

**And once again I'd like to apologize for the delay in updating. I'll try to get back on to my "update-once-a-week" status I had going on earlier; however there are a couple of issues that have started going on in my life that aren't going to make writing this story a heck of a lot easier (the same goes for _So Changed_, for those of you who are reading that story, too). So again, I'm sorry if you faithful readers of mine have to wait another eternity for the next chapter :D; I promise I'm doing all I can to write.**

**Thank you again for reading and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter 7! Again, sorry for the wait...school is starting soon and I've been busy trying to cram everything I've lost over the summer back into my brain. :D**

**Enjoy!**

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"I am _not _wearing a tie to see this Greg Jacklyn," Jess tried to tell her but Leslie was stubborn. 

"You said you would wear a tie if I wore a skirt," she told him smartly. "And I'm wearing a skirt. A very short one, I might add. So now you're wearing a tie."

"I'll look stupid."

"You'll look handsome." Leslie was losing patience. "Pick one or I'll pick for you, and I'll find that one of my dad's that has butterflies on it."

"Fine...fine...the blue one."

"Good choice," Leslie said happily and Jess took it from her in irritation. He put it around his neck and Leslie tied it for him carefully.

"Where'd you learn to do up ties?" he asked her.

"My mom taught me when she had to go to a book talk," she explained, "in case Bill tried walking out the door with his tie done wrong."

"I thought he worked at home."

"He didn't a couple years ago." She tightened the tie carefully and stood back to admire her work. "There. You look very professional."

"Whoopie," Jess said unenthusiastically. "Do you have our notes?"

Leslie picked up the folder she had brought over and laid on Jess's bed. "Yep. All the reasons why our land shouldn't be destroyed and all the proof we have that makes us believe _Miranda's Outfitting!_ is building illegally. And even if we didn't have proof they'd still have to investigate if we went to them with a problem, right?"

Jess nodded, and he and Leslie picked up their coats and walked downstairs. Brenda and Ellie were in their room, which was odd, but the rest of Jess's family was around the table, Nancy telling Joyce Ann and May Belle they were not allowed to eat Halloween candy for breakfast and Jack reading the paper.

"...it all away if this doesn't drop right now," Mrs. Aarons was saying as they walked into the kitchen. She turned around and, seeing them, a smile spread over her tired face. "Now, where are you two going all dressed up like that?"

May Belle and Joyce Ann automatically looked up, apparently already thinking of reasons for Jess to take them with him, and Jack turned around in his chair as well. Jess answered, "Oh...we've got an interview with someone downtown."

"Why?" Joyce Ann demanded as Jack asked, "With who?"

"We've got to go to some Kelly at a desk," Leslie said and Jess nodded, as that part of their story _was _true. "It's for our history project. We told her we need to talk to someone about Lark Creek development."

Jack let out a laugh. "Lark Creek development?" he asked. "What kind of project is this?"

Jess and Leslie glanced at each other uneasily. "Our teacher has interesting assignments," Jess said.

"Well, I don't feel comfortable with you two going downtown by yourselves..." Nancy started, brow furrowing.

"Don't worry, Mom, we're not going near the factories," Jess quickly said, referring to the place where gangs and convicts from D.C. roamed. "We're going to the nice part of town, where all the elected official buildings are."

"Well...don't do or say anything immature," Mrs. Aarons said, still looking concerned. "If you're talking to the people who run our _city_..."

"Oh, no, we're just talking to one of Leslie's dad's friends," Jess lied and Leslie nodded, backing him up. "No one important...no offence, Les."

"None taken."

"Can I come?" May Belle asked eagerly as Jess grabbed two water bottles from the refrigerator and Leslie put her coat on.

"We'd love to have you come," she said to May Belle, speaking over Jess, "but we wouldn't do something like that to you. It'd be really boring; you'd have to sit in the hallway like at school, and be stared at for hours."

May Belle giggled.

"Next time," Jess told her as he put his coat on as well. "'Bye, guys."

"Have fun," Jack called after them, shaking his head, as Nancy said uncertainly, "Be safe!" and Jess and Leslie practically ran for their truck.

"That was close," Leslie hissed as Jess put the keys in the ignition.

"Nice cover up, though," Jess told her with a smile. They sped off down the dirt road, arriving at their destination twenty-five minutes later on 56th Street. The building was large and elegant-looking, with two huge oak trees on either side of it, with three sets of double doors in the front and stairs leading up to them.

"Well, here we go," Leslie said and Jess nodded. He locked the truck, Leslie picked up the folder, and they set off up the stairs to the building.

Jess stopped in awe when they walked indoors. The marble tile gleamed up at him and several chandeliers glittered above him. Nice sets of furniture accented with wooden coffee tables were scattered about the wide front room while fake plants loomed impressively from each corner.

"Come on," whispered Leslie, who was obviously used to being inside buildings like this. Jess nodded again. The room was so quiet, with only a couple people in business suits wandering about, that whispering felt like an unspoken rule to follow.

They set off toward a desk with the word _Assistance_ written in shining letters right above it, Leslie's heels clacking gently on the tile. A brunette at the desk lifted a finger to signal them to wait while she wrote down something on a pad, a phone pressed up against her ear. "Thank you," she said after a couple of murmurs and she hung up the phone. "May I help you?" she asked, looking at Jess and Leslie.

"Hi," Leslie said brightly. "Are you Kelly?"

"Yes, I am," the woman said with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"We're here for a ten o'clock meeting with Mr. Greg Jacklyn?"

Kelly raised an eyebrow, then did some clicking on the computer to the right of her. "Hmm...Mr. Aarons and Ms. Burke?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jess said.

"Right," Kelly said, still looking slightly confused. "Well, take the elevator right over there to floor three, and you'll want to tell the lady at the desk you have an appointment...with the Council President," she added, frowning slightly. "Mrs. Rimmons is the secretary's name."

"Thank you," Leslie told her, and they quickly headed for the elevator.

"Why did she look at us all weird?" Jess asked her as the doors closed and Leslie pushed the number three.

"She probably hasn't seen kids here before," she said as she leaned back against the elevator wall. "I'm surprised she didn't ask if we had IDs. Or whether or not we had parent supervision."

"Well, she didn't," Jess said. "What's with you?"

"My feet," Leslie sighed, who had lifted her left foot and was rubbing it gently. "I hate wearing heels."

"But you look so professional," Jess told her as the elevator doors opened and Leslie put her foot down. She rolled her eyes at them as they headed for the desk with a name tag on the top of it that said _Claire Rimmons_.

"Hello," Jess said pleasantly to an overweight woman clacking away at her computer. She looked up at them with narrowed eyes. "We're here to see Mr. Greg Jacklyn. We have a ten o'clock appointment."

Mrs. Rimmons's brows furrowed. "Mr. Jacklyn is not seeing anybody today."

"We called ahead and scheduled an meeting," Leslie told her with a swift smile. "He's expecting us."

"Well, try again later, little girl," Mrs. Rimmons told her in a clipped voice, and went back to her typing. Jess and Leslie looked at each other.

"Er...ma'am, the lady at the front desk, Kelly, I think, sent us up here," Leslie said. "We have a scheduled appointment."

"And it is urgent that we speak to him," Jess added.

"Listen, children, Mr. Jacklyn has more important things to do than listen to the ramblings of little kids," Mrs. Rimmons said crisply, somehow managing to sound menacing and business-like at the same time. "Now I suggest that you go back to sleeping in late and skipping school and whatever it is that you have to do before I—"

"Mr. Aarons?" came a man's voice from behind them. "Ms. Burke?"

Jess and Leslie turned around. Before them stood a very tall man, with graying hair and a few lines on his face, smiling at them warmly. "So you did come," he said as he stepped out toward Mrs. Rimmons's desk. "Excellent, excellent. I'm—"

"Mr. Jacklyn!" sputtered Mrs. Rimmons, standing up angrily in her chair. "You specifically said—"

"That I would be seeing no further appointments after my ten o'clock meeting," the man finished for her. "And, of course, the council meeting at three. I'm assuming you two are here for me at ten?" he asked, addressing Jess and Leslie.

"Yes, sir," Jess said as Mr. Jacklyn held out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Jess Aarons. And this is Leslie Burke."

"Yes, I thought your voices sounded familiar. Greg Jacklyn. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Aarons." Mr. Jacklyn smiled as he shook Leslie's hand. "Ah, I was right in thinking that you looked as lovely as your voice sounds, Ms. Burke," he said, and Leslie glowed. "That will be all, Claire," he said to the dumbstruck woman behind the desk. "Now, let's go to my office, shall we?"

As they followed Mr. Jacklyn down the hall he said, "I'm sorry for the way my secretary treated you. You'll have to excuse her; she hasn't been the same since she quit smoking."

"It's all right," Leslie said at once. She smiled at Jess and he grinned back; both were confident about this man.

Mr. Jacklyn showed them into a roomy office with a wooden desk facing two cushioned chairs. He sat down behind the desk and Jess and Leslie took the seats in front of him.

"Now, tell me," he said, clasping his hands together and looking at them as though he wanted nothing more than to hear them talk. "What can I do for you?"

Jess nodded at Leslie, and she took out her folder. "Well, to put it bluntly, sir," she said, voice shaking a little, "we...we think that someone is building on a property illegally, by our houses in Lark Creek."

Mr. Jacklyn's brows furrowed. He took out a notepad and started taking notes. "And what causes you to believe they are building illegally?"

"We called them a couple of months ago to inquire about whether or not the property they were building on was public or private," Leslie said. "And we talked to a woman named Ms. Thomas, and we asked her who she had bought the land from."

"And it turns out that the land belonged to a man who lives by us, Tom Strellgate," Jess added. "Ms. Thomas told us she had never heard of him before."

"She kept on saying the land was _her _property, and—"

"Hold on a moment," Mr. Jacklyn interrupted, writing furiously on his paper. "What property is it that Ms. Thomas is building on?"

"It's in the outskirts of south western Lark Creek," Jess explained. "It's woodland that's by the creek."

"And you have to cross farmland to get to it," said Leslie.

"I see." Mr. Jacklyn paused in his writing and nodded at them. "Please continue."

"And then we asked her...Ms. Thomas...how she got the rights to build," Jess went on, "and she told us children shouldn't be concerned about matters like where they build."

Mr. Jacklyn chuckled slightly, pen moving across the paper. "And what did you say?"

"Well...we...we accused her of stealing the land," Leslie said in a small voice. "_I_ did, actually, not Jess. And then she hung up on us."

"Hmmm." Mr. Jacklyn looked up and eyed them, apparently thinking. "Perhaps she was just curious about why two high schoolers would care about what land she chose to build on."

Jess and Leslie looked at each other.

"Or," Mr. Jacklyn continued, "she agreed not to tell whom she bought the land from. And you say you found out she bought it from this Tom Strellgate?"

"Yes," Leslie said at once. "I went and talked to him a week ago. He told me he had sold the land to the company. He even gave me a copy of the contract," she added, pulling it out of her folder and placing it on Mr. Jacklyn's desk. He looked at it carefully then nodded.

"So she does own the land," Mr. Jacklyn said. "But you say she acted suspicious when you talked to her?"

"She did, sir," Jess said earnestly.

"What company is Ms. Thomas representing?"

"It's a clothing store, called 'Miranda's Outfitting!'," Jess said. Mr. Jacklyn turned to his computer at the left of his desk and did some typing, then he frowned as he looked at the monitor.

"Funny...we don't have anything on a store called 'Miranda's Outfitting!'," he murmured, almost to himself. "They haven't contacted us or scheduled anything."

Jess felt relief wash through him. To his right, Leslie smiled triumphantly.

"Well, Mr. Aarons, Ms. Burke, your information will definitely lead to some investigating," Mr. Jacklyn said as he pushed his keyboard back under his desk. "A company needs to contact us before they can build. And we need to arrange public hearings before land is completely ripped up..."

"We have pictures," Leslie said, rifling through the folder and pulling out the photographs they had taken of Terabithia, the trees colored and the ground splashed with spray-paint, and the wooden stakes still sticking out of the earth, and also a picture of the remains of their bridge. Mr. Jacklyn looked at them and said, "May I keep these, for evidence? Sometimes companies have a nasty way of covering up what they've done without permission."

"Sure," Leslie said. "You can keep the whole folder, if you want."

Mr. Jacklyn smiled that warm smile of his as he took the folder from Leslie. "Thank you. Now, I'd like to ask you both two questions that I have a feeling you won't like answering for me. Can you promise me that you'll answer them honestly?"

Jess and Leslie looked at each other again, a little uneasily. However, they both nodded.

"Okay, then." Mr. Jacklyn put his elbows on his desk and looked at them both carefully. "Do either of your parents know that you're here?"

Ringing silence followed this question. Jess let out a sigh and answered, "No, sir."

Mr. Jacklyn nodded. "I thought as much. And, if you don't mind me asking...well, this property must be important for you to come and speak to me about suspicions of a company building illegally on it. Is there any particular reason why you are so willing to save this piece of land?"

Again, silence came after his inquiry. Jess glanced at Leslie as though to say, _I took the last one_, and Leslie took a deep breath.

"It's just...that..." she said quietly, "this land is special to us. We practically grew up on it."

"Sort of like a childhood memory place?" Mr. Jacklyn asked, and they nodded.

"We discovered it six years ago," Jess said. "We...we didn't know it belonged to Tom Strellgate!" he added quickly. "And I don't think he would have cared, really...because we always crossed those fields to get across the creek—"

"And he would be on his fields and wave—"

"He never tried to stop us..."

"I understand," Mr. Jacklyn said, a small smile on his face. "So does anyone else other than you two go to this special place?"

"Our dog," Leslie offered and he laughed.

"Perhaps he can be our witness," he said, chuckling. "Now, listen," and suddenly his face grew serious. "We will investigate and if what you say is true, the construction will be delayed until a public hearing can be arranged. But," he went on gently as Jess and Leslie's faces lit up, "then, unless at the public hearing enough people speak out against the construction, the company will have every right to build on Mr. Strell—well, we'll call it _your _land. And there will be nothing legal we could do to stop them."

Jess's heart fell and Leslie looked crestfallen; however they nodded silently. "We understand, sir," Leslie said.

Mr. Jacklyn smiled again. "And while your parents are unaware of this meeting," he said, "I'm going to have to ask for both your phone numbers so we can contact you with information, or if we need you to appear in court—"

"Court?" Jess said in alarm.

"We don't know what else this company could be doing, and we could need witnesses. But I doubt actually going to court is likely," Mr. Jacklyn assured him. "But I do encourage you both to talk to your parents about this. Otherwise they might be alarmed to get a call from the Lark Creek Council President, asking for their children."

Jess and Leslie both smiled. "Okay."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

They shook their heads. "No, sir," Jess said.

"All right. Thank you for coming to me with this."

"No," Leslie said as they all stood up, "thank _you _for listening."

Mr. Jacklyn shook their hands, smiling gently. "It was my pleasure."

In the elevator the two of them were silent. They walked out of the building, waving to Kelly on their way to the door, and back to the truck without a word.

When they were out of the parking lot and in a drive-through at Burger King, Jess finally turned to Leslie. "Well?" he asked. "How do you think that went?"

Leslie shrugged. "They're going to investigate. That's good."

"Yeah..." Jess sighed. "It's just that...if this public hearing thing is going to happen..." He trailed off.

Leslie looked at him. "I know what you mean. But we'll speak out against the construction. And we can get other people to come, too."

"Like our parents," Jess said with a knot twisting in his stomach. Leslie nodded.

"Yeah..." she said. "They aren't going to be happy when they find out we've been in meetings with important people of Lark Creek. And we lied to your parents' faces. That won't go over well."

"And I doubt they'll be thrilled that we called the clothing company and demanded whether or not the land they were building on was really theirs," Jess added as he pulled up to the drive-through window and a man handed him their burgers. Jess rolled up his car window and drove out into the street before continuing, "But I guess Mr. Jacklyn is right, anyway. They'll find out sooner or later."

"And plus, we'd have a better chance of saving Terabithia if we had our parents speak out against the construction," Leslie added, taking the food from him. She paused as she looked inside the bag, then said, "I'm not even hungry anymore."

"Me, neither."

Leslie shook her head, then put the bag in the back seat. She reached down and took her heels off, wincing as she rubbed her feet.

"I'm never wearing these things again," she muttered. "I don't get how girls at school can get through the day wearing shoes like these."

Jess smiled. "I bet their feet are covered in blisters."

Leslie smiled back at him, her face lighting up and her eyes sparkling. "Let's go to Terabithia when we get back."

"Okay."

"We can think of a way to tell our parents without them completely freaking out on us."

"Sounds like a plan."

They were quiet for another moment, then Jess added, "And who's washing PT this week?"

"I can't remember."

"I think it's me," Jess said. "Trent just _couldn't _stop...what?" he said in exasperation as Leslie winced and her face went blank. "Why do you always look like that when I mention his name?"

"Well...it's rather uncomfortable having someone _staring _at you all the time, you know," Leslie shot at him, all traces of happiness gone. "You wouldn't like having a stalker of _yours _mentioned, would you?"

Jess laughed. "That's ridiculous, Leslie. He doesn't _stalk _you." He glanced at Leslie again. "D-Does he?"

"Of course not," Leslie snapped. "Stalkers follow you home and watch you undress at night. I think I'd know if there was someone outside my bedroom window at night trying to break in, Jess."

"Why did you say 'stalker'?"

"It's just what you call them," said Leslie, as though this solved all problems. "You know...whether or not they stalk you."

Jess frowned at her curiously.

"Well...next time I see Trent I'm going to talk to him. I mean, he could at least come up to you..."

"He has," muttered Leslie, looking at her knees.

Jess nearly crashed into the car in front of him. "WHAT?!"

"Jess, _drive_!" Leslie cried as the car behind the truck beeped irritably and passed them. Jess hit the gas again and she said, "God, it's not like—"

"What did he say? What did he _do_?" Jess demanded. His heart was pounding. "I swear to God I'll—"

"He didn't do anything, Jess!" Leslie said angrily, glancing at him. "He just asked what our math homework was. That's all."

Jess frowned. "That day...when I found out we had to go to Mr. Jacklyn and you came to class all—"

Leslie nodded. "Yeah that's when he asked. I was just...just surprised Trent came up to me. That's all."

Jess glared at her. "That's all he wanted? Math homework?"

"Yes," Leslie snapped. "God."

Jess shrugged again and kept driving. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Leslie said; this time her tone was much gentler. "Can we please let it go?"

Jess nodded as they drove onto the dirt road. PT came running out from the Burke's yard and across the street to meet them as he turned into his driveway. Jess parked and they got out of the truck, Jess grabbing the bag of food and Leslie scooping up PT.

"Hey, you," Leslie said happily as PT licked her face. "How have you—?"

"Is that Burger King?"

It was May Belle, Joyce Ann at her heels. Jess shrugged and handed them the bag.

"We got it for us but we don't really want it anymore," he said, giving the bag to his sisters. "What are you guys doing out here?"

They shrugged. Leslie put down PT and looked at them. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah!" Joyce Ann yelped and May Belle nodded. "Yeah, we're okay."

"Well...listen, we're going inside," Jess said uncertainly. "We've got to talk t—"

"Don't go in there," May Belle said, stepping between him and the house.

Jess frowned. "Why?" he and Leslie asked at the same time.

"Just...just don't go in there," Joyce Ann repeated May Belle's words.

"_Why_?" Jess asked again, confused.

"Mom and Dad are yelling."

"_Mom's _yelling?" Jess said in disbelief. The last time he had heard his mother actually _yell _was the day she caught Ellie and her boyfriend making out by the side of the house. "Are you sure? What are they fighting about?"

"Oh, they're not fighting with each other," Joyce Ann said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah. They were shouting at Brenda," added May Belle. "And Ellie, too. But mostly Brenda. We didn't even try to listen."

Leslie winced. Jess asked, "Did you hear anything?"

"Yeah," May Belle told them, sighing. "And just to let you know...if you guys have something to tell them, you better not say the words "'I'm pregnant', because Brenda said them and they went ballistic."

Jess's jaw dropped, heart plummeting. He looked at Leslie, whose face also registered shock.

"_What_?"

"You heard me," May Belle said, sadness filling her voice.

"She's...Brenda's—?!"

"Yep," Joyce Ann said.

Jess stood speechless in his tracks. Joyce Ann reached into the Burger King bag and pulled out a box of fries as May Belle unwrapped a burger.

"You're joking," Jess said faintly as his sisters started to eat.

"We're not," May Belle said with her mouth full. "Oh, and we think that she's dropping out of college, too. Ellie told us _she _was."

Leslie leaned against the car, still looking horrified. Jess gasped.

"_Seriously_?"

"Would we lie about this?"

"How did they take _that_?"

Joyce Ann used his hands to imitate an explosion.

"That bad?"

"Why do you think we're out here?"

Very faintly through the door Jess thought he heard the phrase "..._for life and you've got nothing_...!" being screamed from inside. He shuddered.

"I guess our news will have to wait, then," Leslie said very quietly. Jess nodded.

"Er...listen, guys...Leslie and I are going for a walk. If Mom and Dad ask where we are tell them I'll be back by dinner, okay?" His sisters nodded.

"Should we tell your parents we're back?" Jess asked as they started walking down the dirt road, PT trotting beside them.

"No," Leslie said, shaking her head. "They're busy writing, anyway."

They walked all the way to their land, crossing Strellgate's farmland as they always did. Leslie looked to the sky as she often did; this time her sea-green eyes were full of worry rather than contentment.

They crossed the makeshift bridge they had put together about a hundred yards from where the real bridge had once stood and walked into Terabithia. Jess looked around as PT ran off ahead. The trees stood painted horribly and the ground was blotched with color and wooden planks stuck out of it, but the land was still the awe-inspiring place they had discovered six years ago; it was still the land that buzzed with energy and where the spirits whispered through the leaves on the trees. When he looked back at Leslie he saw her gazing at him.

"It's still beautiful, isn't it?" she said softly, a small smile on her face. Jess answered her with a weak smile of his own.

"They can't destroy this place," Jess said just as quietly as he again glanced around them. "They can't."

Leslie wasn't looking at the forest. Again as Jess turned back to her she was still gazing at him with a different expression on her face, eyes still sad but holding something else Jess didn't recognize.

"What?" he asked curiously. Leslie shook her head and looked away briefly.

"Nothing," she said, nudging his shoulder with hers as she walked past him. "Let's go to the castle."

As they walked into the clearing, they saw their tree house still standing. At least that hadn't been torn down yet.

"So," Jess said after they had climbed up to it, collapsing on the ledge that was just outside the tree house. Leslie sat down next to him, putting PT on his pile of cushions. "So," she repeated.

"Brenda's pregnant," Jess sighed, and Leslie nodded. "And she and Ellie are dropping out of college," he added darkly after a second thought.

"Your parents will let them stay, right?"

"They wouldn't kick Brenda out," Jess said, trying to convince himself as much as Leslie. "And Ellie's got no other place to go. Yeah, they'll both stay. Maybe they'll get jobs."

"Maybe," said Leslie softly.

"So we've got to tell both our parents that we've been making plans to save this land from construction. And that we had a meeting with the Town Council President without their permission," Jess said.

"Right after they found out about your sisters," added Leslie.

They were silent for a few moments. Then Jess took a breath.

"We're screwed."

Leslie nodded again. "Yeah."

Again they were quiet, then Leslie suddenly murmured, "Unless..."

Jess looked over toward her.

"Unless..." Leslie repeated, frowning as though she had just come up with an idea, "they don't know what we're doing..."

"Leslie, no," Jess told her, looking at her as though she was insane. "Mr. Jacklyn said he'd call us and how do you think our parents will take it if they get a call from the Town Council President?"

"We could call _them _and tell them not to call..." Leslie said, turning to him, voice getting more excited with every word she spoke. "And we can just go to the building every day to see what they've come up with..."

"Oh, okay. And how are we going to explain it when this public hearing thing starts happening and we disappear to speak up in it?"

Leslie sighed. "Well, what do you propose we do?"

Jess opened his mouth, then closed it.

"See? There's nothing else we can do."

"So we're going to lie?"

"We won't _lie_," Leslie told him soothingly, "we'll just...hold off the truth for as long as possible. Then we can tell our parents before they find us out and it will look like we're just letting them know we're...we're doing something important..."

Jess snorted. "Great idea."

"I don't hear you coming up with anything!" Leslie retorted. "What kind of a plan do _you _have that will keep us from being grounded for the rest of our lives?" "Maybe they won't be too mad if we tell them today."

"Maybe high school will turn into a fun, loving place."

Jess sighed bitterly. "Fine. But if they find out, I'm telling my parents that it was all your idea."

"No, you won't," Leslie said sweetly, poking his shoulder. "You'll take the blame with me like you always do."

"Things could change," Jess told her, both of them knowing perfectly well that he was just saying that. Leslie sighed.

"I don't like lying any more then you do, Jess," she said, looking at him sadly. "I mean...I _never _lie to Judy or Bill. But what else can we do right now? Your parents will kill us if we tell them _now_...and chances are mine will be just as mad if they see how your parents react..."

Jess shrugged. "I guess."

"We'll tell them eventually," Leslie said. "Just not now."

"You're right. We'll tell them eventually," Jess repeated.

Leslie smiled and they sat in silence for several minutes before she spoke again.

"Come on," she said, jumping up and pulling him to his feet. "I hear Squogres in the forest. They are united with the company that plans to destroy our land."

Jess leapt down from the tree house and ran after her. She picked up two sticks off the forest ground and tossed one to Jess. "We will fight for Terabithia!" she cried, eyes blazing, addressing the woods around them. "Come out wherever you are!"

"We are not afraid!" added Jess.

"Behind you!" Leslie cried and Jess turned around, striking the air where he knew the evil creature was. They fought happily, waving their sticks around and shouting warnings to one another until the Squogres had retreated.

"I fear that the Squogres have possessed you, my queen," Jess said to Leslie after ten minutes, approaching her as she stood panting. "You must defeat me in a duel before I shall accept you as Queen Leslie again."

Leslie beamed and brandished her stick like a sword. "So be it," she said, head held high. "But how do I know you're not being possessed yourself?"

"You'll have to trust me," Jess told her with a grin as they started sword fighting viciously. Leslie twisted her branch and smacked it upwards in a way that sent Jess's flying, his weapon landing five or six feet away from them.

Leslie pressed the tip of her branch up to Jess's throat. "Do you accept me now, my king?" she said, eyes sparkling with triumph.

Jess held both his hands up. "I do, your Highness. I beg that you do not harm me."

PT trotted up to them, carrying Jess's branch in his mouth and gnawing on it happily. They grinned and Leslie moved her stick away, tossing it back on the ground.

"Let's climb trees," she said, already heading for her favorite oak. Instead of joining her as she climbed up onto a branch and started lifting herself higher up the tree, Jess stayed on the ground with PT and watched as the sun caught on Leslie's skin, making it glow, and the breeze whipped her golden hair unrelentingly. She smiled widely as she lifted her arms and directed the wind as she loved to do. Jess smiled happily, because every time he looked at Leslie she gave off nothing but comfort, now more than ever; with her it was always easy to forget any worries—Brenda, high school, Terabithia—and believe that nothing in the world was ever wrong.

* * *

**Okay, I'll try and make this painless. :D**

**As always, thank you so very much to my anonymous reviewers (just review_er_, this time :D) that I can't respond to: PollenandSalt. And to those of you who just take the time and read, I appreciate it so much!**

**And again, thank you millions to MadTom, who very kindly read a section of this chapter for me and gave me feedback I needed. Your help is so valuable to me!**

**And of course, thanks to those of you who belong to the site and leave reviews for me. You guys are the reason I try and update as soon as I possibly can!**

**As I said, school starts in mere days for me so it is going to be rather difficult time-wise to write; however you all have my word that this story (_and _So Changed, people!) _will _be completed even if it is the last thing I do. I will update as soon as I can.**

**Thank you for reading and at this point I'm not even going to ask you to please review; I know that you wonderful people out there will do so anyway. :D Thank you, all**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8! I'll talk to you guys at the end of this.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

When Jess returned home that night, all hell was breaking loose. 

Having stayed with Leslie in Terabithia all afternoon and—when it got dark—on her front porch until her parents called her in and they had to part, he had had lots of time to imagine what kind of place his house had become in the short span of about eight hours. And when he walked through the front door, he figured out that his imagination hadn't exactly been running wild.

He couldn't even hear words in all the shouting, and he didn't try to. Jess practically ran for the stairs before anyone could take notice of him (from the voices coming from the living room, it was his parents and elder sisters he had to avoid) and bolted to his room. To his horror the bedroom door was locked.

"Who is it?" came May Belle's high-pitched voice from the other side of the door as he knocked frantically.

"It's me, stupid, open the door," Jess said in irritation, and the door opened. He hurried in and May Belle shut it behind him.

"Hi," she said in sad relief after locking the door again. "We thought you were Brenda."

"Or Ellie," Joyce Ann added from hers and May Belle's bed. "Or Dad or Mom."

"My God, how long have they been yelling?" Jess said with alarm, hearing a fresh round of screaming echo up to the small room. "You said Brenda told them the news this morning..."

"Oh, they haven't been yelling all day," May Belle said, looking at the ground. "Dad had to go to the office and he got back about half an hour ago. Then Brenda said something to him and they just started up again."

"And why would you have locked the freaking door?" Jess said, heart still beating rather quickly. "It's not like anyone would come in and hit you."

"Everyone sure sounded like they would have," May Belle said quietly, lower lip trembling and her eyes filling with tears.

Jess blinked at his sister in confusion, then looked over at Joyce Ann. She looked ready to cry, too.

He sighed helplessly and put an arm around May Belle's shoulders, leading her over to where Joyce Ann sat on their bed. He sat down and hugged Joyce Ann, too, as she started to cry. "Look," he said, turning to look from one sister to the other, "this will all blow over eventually, right? Everyone's just still in shock for right now so Mom and Dad and Ellie and Brenda are just...they're just angry at each other. But they wouldn't be angry with you...well, Brenda might be. She's just stupid; I mean, look what she—"

May Belle burst into tears; Joyce Ann just cried harder. Jess sighed bitterly again and started again, "Everything will be fine. Mom and Dad are just angry with Brenda, and Ellie for dropping out of college, but mostly Brenda. They aren't angry at you just because they're _yelling_."

"Mom yelled at us to come inside," Joyce Ann asked, sniffing and looking up at Jess with glittering brown eyes. "She sounded like she was mad at us."

"She's frustrated, Joycie," Jess said, trying to sound as soothing as Leslie would have if she was there comforting the two girls rather than he. "But she's not angry with you. No one is. In fact, you two are probably looking like the good daughters compared to Brenda and Ellie. Okay?"

His sisters nodded half-heartedly.

"And trust me, no one would ever come up here and hit you," Jess said, attempting to smile. "Unless you went and burned my sketchbook or something like that. Then you should be worried."

May Belle gave a weak smile; Joyce Ann giggled slightly.

"Maybe Leslie and I can take you downtown tomorrow for some hot chocolate," Jess offered, and his sisters' eyes lit up. "We can get you out of the house for a little bit tomorrow."

"Okay," May Belle and Joyce Ann said, both sounding happier. Jess smiled and got up, and walked over to his own section of the room, taking off his shoes and throwing them at the foot of his bed. He had untied his tie and let it hang loose around his neck after the meeting with Greg Jacklyn; now he ripped it off and tossed it on his bed.

"Hey, Jess?"

"Yeah, May Belle?"

"What were you and Leslie doing today?"

Jess blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You know. You went downtown somewhere this morning but you guys went on a walk and, well, you didn't show up until now. And it's already eight o'clock."

So that's why his stomach was growling. He hadn't eaten anything since that morning.

"Oh, well, I don't know. Stuff," he said casually as he pulled out his sketchbook and a pencil. "You know, like talking, running."

May Belle eyed him. "That's all?"

"Yeah..." Jess said, confused, starting to draw. Joyce Ann snorted.

"At _my_ school if a boy and a girl hang out together alone the principal comes and makes them split up," she said smartly. "Even when they're not touching lips."

Jess's hand slipped so that he accidentally made a big mark on his paper where he hadn't meant to. "What?"

"Touching lips," Joyce Ann said, as though it was the simplest thing in the world. "That's what all the older boys and girls do at my school when they're alone together."

"It's called _kissing_, genius," May Belle informed her.

"Fine, then. They're always kissing."

"Leslie and I don't do that," Jess told them quickly, face suddenly feeling warm. "It's must be different at your guys' age."

"_You _met Leslie when you were ten," May Belle told him, as if he didn't know. "That's younger then I am."

Jess shrugged and started to draw, and eventually his sisters stopped gazing at him for information and went back to their own things to do.

OOO

The next day the two girls waited patiently until Jess had woken up and was ready to head downstairs before going down to the table for breakfast. They walked cautiously behind their elder brother, looking at their parents apprehensively as they entered the kitchen.

Brenda and Ellie were mercifully not at the table. Jack was reading the paper, as usual, and Nancy was at the counter buttering toast.

"Good morning," she said pleasantly as the three of them sat at the table. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Jess said and his sisters nodded timidly. Jack looked up and reached over to ruffle May Belle's hair.

"You look like you saw a ghost," he told her. "And you, Joycie."

"Are you mad at us?" Joyce Ann blurted out.

Nancy looked up and Jack frowned. "Why would we be mad at you?" Jack asked as Nancy walked over to the table with the plate of toast.

"You were yelling yesterday. A lot," May Belle muttered to her father's coffee cup.

Nancy sighed bitterly. "So I assume you know about Brenda?" she asked Jess.

"Yeah," he answered. "They told me."

"That means the Burkes probably know, too," Jack said.

"I don't think Leslie would have said anything to her parents unless she knew it was okay with you guys, first."

"Are you mad at us?" Joyce Ann repeated as Jack opened his mouth to reply to Jess. Instead he sighed and answered his daughter.

"Look, you girls," he said, putting his hand to his head in exhaustion. Looking at him closer, Jess saw that he had black circles under his eyes. "Your momma and I aren't mad at you—why would we be mad at you? Brenda did a stupid thing and she's going to have to live with her mistake, and we're just frustrated about that."

"And with both Brenda and Ellie dropping out of college..." Nancy said quietly, sitting down across from May Belle. "You girls need to understand we don't feel like the greatest parents right now."

"Where will they stay?" Joyce Ann asked.

"Here, of course," Jack said. "But I am _not _looking forward to—"

"Jack," Nancy hissed, and he quickly stopped talking.

As his mother and father continued soothing his sisters, Jess finished his breakfast as fast as humanly possible before bolting out the door, telling May Belle and Joyce Ann to wait for him by the truck. As he went outside, however, he saw Leslie already sitting on the back end of it, PT chewing a stick below her.

"Hey," she said before Jess could open his mouth. "I got here a couple of minutes ago but I didn't want to…well—"

"I know," Jess said, leaning over to pat PT, then getting up on the truck and sitting next to her, careful not to fall into the truck bed. "You want to come with me downtown with May Belle and Joycie? Last night they were really upset…."

He told her what his sisters had said to him, and that he had promised to get them out of the house for a little while. Leslie listened silently, staring at the ground.

"Poor girls," she said softly once Jess had finished. "I guess if one thing happens in a big family like yours everything comes crashing down for everyb—"

The rest of her words were drowned out by blaring music, coming from a beat-up silver car that came rolling up to the Aarons house. PT barked and ran under the truck. Jess's heart leapt—it was his elder sister's car.

"Oh, great," he muttered to Leslie as Ellie and Brenda got out of it; Ellie tossing a cigarette to the ground and stamping on it and Brenda slamming her door shut so hard the rearview mirror rattled. They started walking up to the house, muttering about something; both froze when they saw Jess and Leslie.

Jess looked at his sisters. Maybe it was just knowing that she was pregnant…but to him Brenda looked different. It was a difference he didn't think he could describe if he was asked…well, besides describing the way she was glaring at him and Leslie in fury.

"_What_?" spat Brenda as the two of them stayed silent. "What the hell are _you_ looking at?"

Leslie gave Jess a worried look as though to say, _your sister, not mine_ and Jess swallowed nervously. "Nothing."

"You know, if you two want a place to make out I wouldn't do it there," Ellie snickered at them as Brenda started to speak. "Go up to that hill where you can sit in your truck and no one will see." She pointed eastward and she and Brenda let out cruel laughs.

"You're right, Ellie. Oh, but Leslie," Brenda said sweetly, turning to Leslie who sat facing her with an emotionless expression, "girls like you wouldn't do stuff like that, right? Or at least know _how_." She took a drag on the cigarette in her hand. "First you have to dress like a human being…and owning a TV is recommended."

Leslie yawned.

"Or," Ellie added, "you'd have to actually have a _life_."

Jess felt his temper flare. "Leave her alone."

"Why, don't like hearing the facts about your girlfriend?" Brenda snorted. "You don't like hearing that she's a freak?"

"Please don't say those sorts of things to me," Leslie said indifferently, her tone much less harsh than it usually was when she was fending off Jess's older sisters. "I don't deserve it any more than you do."

Ellie stood staring at Leslie with her mouth half open. Brenda's smile faded.

"Go inside," Jess said angrily as both his sisters suddenly started to speak. "Get out of our sight. I mean it."

Brenda laughed and Ellie let out a noise that was like a giggle and a snort.

"I don't remember you becoming the boss of us," she told Jess than turned back to Leslie. "So what were _you_ planning to do today? Going to work on those little stories of yours?"

Leslie looked uninterested in the conversation, which was why Jess didn't launch himself across to his sister and rip her apart like he would have liked to do.

"Or maybe go to the hillbilly store to buy some more clothes?" Brenda suggested. "Hey, on your way to that make out hill we told you about be sure to go _that_ way." She pointed to the dirt road and to the right, the road that led to Terabithia. "There's some sort of construction down there. Not that you'd be interested in _normal_ clothes, Leslie, but did you know that they're going to build a clothing store?"

"No, they aren't," Leslie burst out.

"What, you can't read any more than you can think?" said Brenda rapidly, clearly eager to feast on Leslie's sudden change of tone. "It says _Miranda's Outfitting! coming soon to this location _on a big bulletin down that way. You didn't see it?"

Leslie gasped. Jess felt his heart skip several beats.

"What do you mean, there's a big bulletin down that way?" he asked quickly.

"I guess they're blind, too," Ellie muttered and they both laughed.

"You two are funny," Brenda cooed.

"Yep, we are," Leslie said, sounding bored again, though still looking rather worried. "Hysterical."

"You're even _funnier_ than our little brother, Leslie," Brenda said in a sugary tone.

"Hilarious."

"Maybe you _are_ blind and stupid but I bet there are some freaks out there who like that _funniness_, Leslie."

"Um-hmm."

"I bet those guys at your school _love_ it," Brenda said sweetly. "Do you deal it out to them like you do to Jess?"

Leslie snapped.

"Oh, yes, I do," she said sarcastically, with a fury in her voice that cut Jess off as he started to speak. He glanced at her in alarm. "Yeah, maybe I should work on that…I'll try not to deal out _funniness_ to everybody who asks for it."

"Or letting them take it from you," Brenda said with a nasty grin.

Leslie's face lost its color. Jess looked from her to his sister in shocked confusion.

"Yeah, I'd work on that if I were you," said Brenda, not taking her small eyes off Leslie. "You might find that life gets a little easier that way."

"Thanks for the advice," Leslie snapped out. "I will work on stuff like that to make my life easier. You know, like not smoking or not getting pregnant while I'm still in college."

Ellie glared at Leslie, arms crossed across her chest. Brenda's smile faded; in an instant she looked ready to kill.

"You little _bitch_," she hissed at Leslie, taking a step toward the truck.

Jess leapt to the ground. "_What did you call her_?"

"She heard her," Ellie said cruelly as Brenda snarled, "Shut up, Jess! You—"

"_Excuse_ me?" Leslie said in a deadly tone, interrupting her, stepping back onto the ground and facing Brenda with gleaming eyes. Jess, his heart beating extra blood through his veins from anger, instinctively stepped between them. "Unless you want a black eye to go with that thick head of yours—"

"Shut the hell up, you little whore, or I'll—"

"What's going on here?!"

The four of them looked toward the house; Jack was walking out the door—May Belle and Joyce Ann at his heals, looking scared. Nancy stood in the doorway, eyes narrowed.

"Leslie's being a _bitch_, that's what's going on!" shouted Brenda, cheeks splotched red from fury.

"Shut _up_!" yelled Jess in her face. "That's not true, and you—"

_Wham_! Brenda's hand whipped out and struck Jess across the cheek; he was so startled he didn't hear Leslie cry out with surprise or May Belle and Joyce Ann's screams; even Ellie leapt back as though electrocuted. Jess put a shaking hand to his throbbing face as Leslie charged in front of him.

"Get away from him!" she shouted as Jack reached the scene; he grabbed Brenda's wrist as she flung it back to hit Leslie this time, and Brenda started shrieking.

"_Daddy_! Tell her to get the hell away from here! You heard what she said!"

"I heard the whole thing," Jack growled at her. "Inside. Now. Ellie, you too."

"I didn't do anything!" yelled Ellie. "God! We were just—"

"Now!"

Ellie gave Jess and Leslie death looks and stomped away, toward the house, shoving her little sisters out of her path. Brenda snarled, "I'm not going anywhere until—"

"You can walk, girl, or I can carry you," snapped Jack. "Your choice."

"But—"

"_NOW_!"

Brenda let out a scream of frustration and followed Ellie; this time May Belle and Joyce Ann were careful to stay out of the way. Jess stared after his sister, dumbfounded. He knew girls had different feelings for lots of things, knew how to put up with them ever since he was thirteen and Leslie had started getting crabby toward him for a couple days once a month, but what had just happened was beyond anything he had ever dealt with before in his life.

Jack looked at Jess, as though understanding what he was feeling, and at Leslie, still in front of Jess defensively. Leslie bit her lip.

"M-Mr. Aarons," she managed to say, "I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"How many times," he told her, "have I told you to call me _Jack_?"

Leslie stopped talking.

"I heard what happened. Don't be sorry," Jack told her, shaking his head. Leslie gave him a grateful look and, as Jess's face stopped smarting, he took his hand away from his face.

"Ouch," Jack said, shaking his head again as he looked at the mark Brenda had left. "What got into her?"

Jess shrugged.

"You okay?" Leslie asked sympathetically.

Jess suddenly found that he was smiling. "You know, the last time Brenda hit me I was five, 'cause I decapitated all her Barbie dolls."

Jack chuckled momentarily, then his face went serious as they heard Nancy shouting at Brenda and Ellie from inside, and them screaming at her back. The three of them were silent for a second, then Jack nodded toward May Belle and Joyce Ann. "They said you were going to take them downtown," he said. "See if you can keep them out of the house for a couple of hours while we deal with your other sisters, Jess, okay?"

Jess nodded. Jack started to turn away, a sad, tired expression on his face, stooping down to whisper words to May Belle and Joyce Ann who were still by the door.

"What did she mean…letting guys take it away from you?" Jess said to Leslie as his sisters started walking toward him.

Leslie cast him a strange look. "What do you mean?"

"Brenda said—"

"Hi!" May Belle said, looking at Jess worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Jess tried to smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he told them. "Ready to get some hot chocolate?"

"Yeah!" they said, their faces lighting up as they saw their brother in a good mood. As they got into the truck Jess held Leslie back.

"Brenda said something about letting guys take…I think she said _funniness_ from you," he asked her softly so his sisters wouldn't hear. He laughed, suddenly realizing how ridiculous it sounded. "What did she mean by that?"

Leslie just looked at him sadly.

"She meant what she said," she answered him before climbing into the truck, PT jumping up after her. Jess frowned for a moment or two before, sighing, getting into the vehicle himself and starting the ignition.

OOO

That night Jack insisted Leslie come over after dinner so that Ellie—though mostly Brenda—could apologize. Ellie did, rolling her eyes and sounding sarcastic, but Brenda refused to speak at all, finally giving a loud "Hmph!" and storming up to her room. Ellie followed her. Jess glared after them both as his father turned in his seat to face the stairway.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Jack shouted after them. "If you two can't act your age then you both are back in your apartment by next week!"

"_Fine_!" snarled Brenda from upstairs. "_Sorry_!"

Jack turned back in his chair, sighing heavily; Nancy sighed as well and put her face in her palms. Leslie went over and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," she said softly. "Really. They both are going through a lot right now, especially Brenda. I understand that they both are going to be a little moody from now on. I'm not upset if they snap out at me."

"I know, but they have no right to take out their anger on you, honey," said Nancy, looking up at Leslie in despair. "As much as you are part of this family they still can't just be cruel to you whenever they want."

"Besides, we can't have them take out their anger on anyone else," Jack said, glancing over at May Belle and Joyce Ann, who were watching TV in the other room, pretending that they couldn't hear anything that was going on in the kitchen. "Though I don't think they're going to come back down anytime soon."

Nancy started to cry silently. Leslie reached down and put her arms around her.

"It will be okay," she said soothingly. "All in time."

Jess smiled slightly as his mother stood up to embrace her, giving Leslie a big hug to show her her thanks. Jack stood up as well and Nancy turned to him.

"I j-just feel l-like we should have p-prevented this…."

"We'll be outside," Jess said quickly, seizing Leslie's hand and practically dragging her to the door.

"Be in by ten, Jess," Jack said and Nancy attempted to smile. "See you, Leslie," she said, wiping her eyes.

"'Bye," answered Leslie softly. Jack, over Nancy's shoulder, mouthed a "Thank you," to her before Jess closed the door.

"Did you get a call yet?" he asked her almost frantically and it took a moment for the sudden change of subject to sink in. Eventually she shook her head.

"No. You?"

"No," Jess sighed. "But it's only the first day since we've reported. Maybe we'll get a call tomorrow."

He saw Leslie nod her head in the dark. "And we have to do something about that bulletin board."

"If we destroy it—"

"We won't destroy it," Leslie said impatiently. "If we do Mr. Jacklyn will know it was us. I think we should make another bulletin…or a sign or something…and put it right next to the _Miranda's Outfitting!_ one. That way if they destroy _our_ bulletin—"

"Then it's more evidence for us to show the Council," Jess said, beaming at her. "Brilliant."

Leslie sighed and sat down on the front steps. "I just hope they don't find out."

"Who? The city council?" Jess asked, sitting down next to her.

"No…" Leslie said, nodding to the kitchen door where Jack was talking to Nancy soothingly. "And _my_ parents," she added in a whisper.

"Yeah…." Jess ran a hand through his hair.

The slight November breeze ran through the night to reach them; it blew through the trees and made Leslie's hair whip out momentarily. Jess looked at her. She was staring at the ground, sea-green eyes downcast, and he couldn't sense that familiar energy that seemed to burn off of her wherever she went, the happy, wondrous, creative energy that seemed to keep her—and him—alive.

"What's up?" he asked her. She looked at him, surprised to find him looking at her.

"Oh…." She looked back to the ground. "Nothing."

"Leslie…"

She sighed. "Just…everything. I mean, your sister...and your whole family is going through so much and Terabithia's in danger and …." She trailed off.

"And what?"

Leslie shook her head and got up from the porch. Jess looked up at her.

"What, Leslie? What else?"

"I have to go," she told him, brushing her hair out of her face as the wind started blowing again. "I just remembered…Bill wanted me to read a chapter of his book before bed tonight. I'll see you tomorrow morning for school, okay?"

Jess just stared at her.

"Fine, then, Mr. Aarons. See you later." She turned and started walking toward the dirt road.

"You want me to walk you back?" Jess called after her, still confused.

"No." She got to the end of the Aarons's property before turning back and giving him a small smile Jess could see in the dark. "Thanks, though."

Jess lifted a hand and lowered it to wave goodbye, and watched her walk away. The moonlight made her porcelain skin look almost white; her golden hair glowed like it was the moon itself. _That is not possible_, he thought to himself then he smiled.

With Leslie, anything was possible.

Nearly fifteen minutes later Jess suddenly realized that Bill had told them he wasn't planning to work on anything new until Christmas.

* * *

**Well, I suppose now would be the right time to apologize for my very long update...so I'm sorry!!!! I'm sure you readers of mine will understand when I say that I have a lot of rough things going on in my life right now (besides school and work)and that this fanfic, unfortunately, falls down to the bottom of my "things to deal with" list. You may all have my word that I will not abandon this story nor will I stop writing it; however my updates are going to be very slow from now on.**

**If you guys would rather have me wait to update until I have the entire thing finished and I can update the whole story in a week rather then have you guys wait for a month (or months) for the next chapter, PM me and let me know, or please drop me a review and tell me. **

**Thank you as always to all my anonymous reviewers who I can't reply to (Maria, polymath, PollenandSalt, and a very helpful review with no name to it) and of course to those of you I can. I appreciate you guys so much; it is all of you who keep this story alive! Again, I should not, have not, and will not give up on this story, and again I am sorry for the late update and for the slow updates yet to come.**

**Thank you! Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I've got too much to say to say it here…read first and we'll chat later, my faithful readers. :D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

From years of knowing his best friend, Jess had come to understand that whenever something was deeply bothering Leslie, her one default setting was silence and action molded into one. Her silence was easy to understand. Her action was not.

She cleaned. She flew around like a mad hen, digging into every dust bunny, every stain, every piece of trash she could find, not leaving anything she could get her hands on untouched. Jess remembered when they were fourteen, and Judy and Bill had had their biggest fight in years, apparently about some old family strain between the Burkes and Judy's own parents, and they had been yelling at each other for days. During that time Leslie must have cleaned their entire house. When that was done, she had invaded Jess's—much to Jack and Nancy's bewilderment—armed with her cleaning supplies and staying silent for about six days straight before Jess was able to calm her down.

So that was why Jess panicked when he walked into Leslie's house one afternoon at the end of November to find her on her hands and knees, frantically scrubbing her kitchen floor; her hair was pulled up off her face and a mop and a bucket full of water were next to her. Closing the door quietly, he offered a hello and didn't say it again when he didn't get an answer. Whenever Leslie was forced into talking at this kind of stage she attacked brutally, like a provoked wild animal. After about ten minutes, however, Jess threw caution to the winds.

"Leslie?" he asked gently. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she snarled back and Jess backed up a couple of steps. "I'm incredibly okay. I'm fantastic. I'm tired," she added as she stopped scrubbing for a moment to mop her forehead. Jess saw circles under her eyes.

"Did you even sleep last night?"

"What, you think I got up in the middle of the night and started to clean like I'm freaking Cinderella?" Leslie attacked the floor again, throwing every ounce of her energy into a questionable stain on the edge of one tile. "I _meant _that...that I…oh, I don't know. I'm just tired, okay?" She fell into her silence again, scrubbing the floor as though her life depended on it.

"Where are Judy and Bill?"

Leslie mumbled something. Jess watched her anxiously for another couple of minutes before, not able to take it anymore, he walked over to where she had moved to on her hands and knees. "Leslie, put the brush down."

She was either ignoring him, or else she couldn't hear him at all. Jess sadly put his hand on her shoulder and started to speak, and drew his hand back in alarm when Leslie flinched horribly at his touch, recoiling away from him as though he was a disease. "Don't do that!" she screeched, looking at Jess with wild eyes. "You scared me!"

Jess looked at her in horror.

"Leslie...are you...?"

"Yes, I'm fine, okay?" Leslie said, now looking apologetic rather than scared. "I'm sorry...I...I..."

Jess waited. Finally she sat down and threw her scrub brush on the wet floor, putting a soapy hand to her forehead and collapsing on her side, propping herself up with her free hand. "I just feel like there are voices screaming in my head. I can't think...I just..." Again she trailed off, and she looked at Jess hopefully, as though he might be able to finish the sentence.

"Maybe all the drama at my house is getting to you?" suggested Jess, sitting down next to her. "And with Terabithia..."

Leslie nodded gratefully. "Yeah. You're probably right." She looked down at her scrub brush and her bucket of water. Already Jess could see the tension draining out of her face. "The floor looks pretty good, though."

"Well, you see, nowadays we have these really cool things called mops," said Jess. Leslie grinned. "They're these sticks with stuff at the end that scrub away all the crap off your floor and you don't have to get down on your hands and knees like a house maid."

Leslie shook her head at him, eyes shining with amusement. "Maybe I'll get one of those mop things someday."

"Only if you promise to use it once a month and not every day, my Queen," Jess told her. "The last thing I need is for you to work yourself to death."

Leslie didn't look away from him; instead she gazed at him like she had the day in the forest—with something in her eyes Jess couldn't recognize—and he looked back at her, trying to figure out what it was. The sun, coming through the window and spilling out onto the gleaming kitchen floor, caught onto her hair and emphasized that new expression in her eyes. Jess gazed into them for a long time.

"Leslie," he started softly but he couldn't say anything else; her eyes softened, as though she liked hearing her name spoken that way, and her lips quivered slightly in the beginnings a smile. Jess felt something stir in his chest that made his heart beat a little faster; then he realized that her name was still lingering in the air, unattached to anything that would have made it into a sentence. He looked down at the scrub brush that lay abandoned on the floor between them.

"Er...Les, no more cleaning today, okay?" he said. "You're going to get yourself hired for work or something and…and leave me all alone."

Leslie blinked once and nodded; the magic faded from her eyes but she still smiled. "As you wish, your Majes—" She stopped, for she and Jess had both reached for the scrub brush at the same time; Jess's hand fell on top of hers and they looked up at each other again.

Suddenly a warmth flared up inside Jess; it faded away quickly as he shrank back from it, confused, not knowing what it was or where it had come from. Leslie looked down at their hands and pulled hers away.

"Your Majesty," she finished, looking at Jess again then away, suddenly extremely concentrated on getting up and taking the bucket of water over to the sink. Neither of them spoke for a minute or so, then PT came padding into the room, a yawning Bill right behind him.

"Good God, Les, if you're going to clean, work on our shower," he said as he looked at the floor, impressed. "Nice job on the floors, honey."

"Thanks," said Leslie softly from the sink. Bill smiled when he saw Jess.

"Hey," he said. "How are things going?"

There was a slight pause as Jess tried to think of an answer different from what he had said the day before, and the day before that, and the—

"Same old," he said, trying to smile.

Bill nodded sympathetically. Leslie hadn't said a word to them about Brenda's pregnancy, but Nancy had had coffee with Judy one morning the week before so she could explain, and the news had passed over into the Burke household.

"Hang in there," Bill told Jess now, as PT sniffed at the wet floors. "Brenda's mood swings will be over by June, won't they?"

"Even when they do we'll be up all night because of her dumb kid crying," Jess sighed.

"Well, you're always welcome to sleep over here, Jess," said Bill with a small smile. "As long as you don't mind PT sneaking up on you during the night."

Jess felt guilty; he hadn't meant to complain. "Yeah…thanks," he said slowly. "Who knows? Maybe she'll have her own place by then. Maybe the baby won't be so much of a pain."

"Very true," Bill said. "Maybe this baby will…well, if you don't mind me saying, Jess…"

"…Make her grow up a bit?" Jess offered, and Bill nodded.

"Exactly," he said. "We all learn things over time…sometimes it just takes a while for others to understand what's been thrown at them, you know?"

Leslie's hand slipped on the bucket she had been washing out; water sloshed everywhere and she hurriedly grabbed a towel off the rack above the faucet, flushing.

"Les, honey…you…you seem a little flustered this morning," Bill said as PT ran from the room and away from the water. "Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Of course," Leslie said in a very collected manner that was so unlike her. "I'm fine. Just clumsy."

Bill glanced at Jess with his eyebrows raised; Jess shook his head and shrugged.

"Well, why don't you take it easy this morning?" Bill asked, walking over and putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder. Again Jess saw her flinch—only slightly this time, and his confusion deepened. "Maybe read a little bit…or you could keep cleaning our house, if you'd like," Bill added, eyes snapping with amusement.

"I think she'd rather go and visit Brenda," Jess said sarcastically, and was alarmed when Leslie spun around and faced him with a smile.

"Okay! Let's bring her some of those French fries from downtown—she's been craving those lately, hasn't she?"

"Leslie, I was joking," Jess said while Bill chuckled. "Going near her nowadays is like putting your head in a guillotine."

"I'm serious." Leslie dried her hands and threw the towel on the counter. "Maybe while we're _downtown_ we could try to look for that _one thing_ for our _project_, you know?"

It took Jess a second to catch on.

"Oh, right!" he said, nodding. "Yeah…we need to get those, don't we?"

"And what project would this be?" asked Bill, looking between them with a smile.

"Oh, it's a dumb thing for our Biology class," Leslie said brightly.

"Yeah…a research paper on insects," Jess invented, seeing a fly on the windowsill.

"Interesting," Bill said. "Are you collecting insects, then?"

"Uh…yeah. We've got to watch them and write an essay on what we see."

"Well, have fun with that. I've got to go help Judy do some research myself…though I think we'll have more interesting results. And if you get bored," he added as he turned to go, "come on over and get started on our shower."

"I'd like to help with a research paper myself…on something that doesn't involve law," called Judy from the next room. "What does your essay have to be about?"

Leslie watched her father go with eyes that glittered strangely, her beautiful face perfectly blank.

"It's about what happens when other people invade territory that isn't theirs."

OOO

Nothing ever came of their visit to Greg Jacklyn's office downtown (Mrs. Rimmons had chased them away before they could get two words in) but perhaps it was a good thing that they hadn't been able to see him; when Jess pulled up into the driveway after school the next day he was surprised to see his father's pickup truck parked in its usual spot; usually his dad wasn't home when he got home from school. Leslie frowned.

"That's weird," she said, taking the words out of Jess's mouth. "I thought your dad was at the office today."

Jess shrugged and parked. They both got out of the truck and headed toward the Aarons household, planning to dump their things in Jess's room then go to Terabithia to make a warning sign for the construction workers, but when they both entered the kitchen Jess saw, to his even bigger surprise, both his mother and father sitting at the table with cold expressions on their faces. They turned to look at him and Leslie when they walked in, apparently waiting for them.

Jess and Leslie froze and Jess felt his stomach clench as he read his parents' expressions.

"Hello, you two," Jack said pleasantly as they hesitated in the doorway. "Have a good day at school?" He wasn't smiling.

"Er..." Jess said.

"Yeah," Leslie said cautiously and Jess could tell by her voice that she was confused. "Pretty good day."

"That's good," Jack said, looking from Leslie to Jess, with his brows furrowed. "We had a pretty _interesting _day, us two."

Jess swallowed. "Well...we were going to go put our stuff down and go—"

"Sit down," Mrs. Aarons told him, voice sharp and making Jess jump. "Both of you," she added as Leslie started to shrink away.

Jess and Leslie glanced at each other; Jess wondered what they possibly could have done for Leslie to be treated this way by his parents, but he eventually just dropped his bag on the floor and took a seat. Leslie sat down next to him.

"You know, Leslie, normally now would be the time I ask you to leave so I can talk to Jess alone," Jack said, glancing over at Leslie, "but I have a feeling that you have had a hand in this, too."

Jess felt his heart skip a beat. _Oh, no._

"We got a call today from our _Council President _from downtown," Jack said. Nancy sat next to him with her mouth paper-thin. "He told me that you two have gone to him about a certain issue regarding something he wouldn't share with me once he found out that you 'didn't correspond information' to us."

Jess and Leslie glanced at each other again in terror. Jess felt his heart thudding.

"What the hell have you two been doing?"

Neither of them said a word.

"We're going to hear about it no matter how long you two choose to keep it in, so you might as well tell us sooner rather then later."

Leslie glanced at Jess apologetically. "We're just…we're trying to help save those forests back there."

"We didn't want to disturb you guys…we thought that you guys had your hands full—"

"And that it wasn't necessary to say anything—"

"You know, what with Brenda being pregnant—"

"Brenda's condition has nothing to do with this." Jack glared at Jess. "We are frustrated, yes, but that didn't give you permission to lie to our faces and keep us in the dark about things we should be aware of."

"Especially things that involve the _law_," Nancy said sternly.

Jess and Leslie looked at each other.

"Leslie, I have no control over you, but Jess, for as long as I'm concerned, you are grounded."

Jess sighed bitterly. He really couldn't see any point in arguing. "Okay."

"Meanwhile, Bill and Judy have been notified about this as well," Nancy added, frowning. "They're coming over in a little while so we all can have a little talk."

"We didn't mean to do anything wrong," Leslie said in a small voice. "We're just trying to protect our land."

"And we found out that the company building up on T…on the land…they're doing it illegally," Jess pointed out, struggling to keep his voice free of irritation. "Should we have just sat and let it happen?"

"I'll ask you both something," Jack said, looking from Leslie to Jess with narrowed eyes. "What exactly are you guys doing on that land by the creek?"

A ringing silence followed. Jess and Leslie dared not look at each other.

"Well?"

"We take PT for walks down there," Jess offered. "He likes the creek."

"I would think," Nancy said with her brows furrowed, "that you both would be a little weary of that creek nowadays…especially you, Leslie, ever since what happened down there six years ago."

Jess saw Leslie's hands clench her edge of the table.

"We don't really go across the creek," she said, looking guilty. "But…but when we do we have a safe place to cross."

"Or we _did_," said Jess under his breath.

"I don't like the idea of you guys going off by yourselves like that," said Nancy, "and I'm sure Bill and Judy would agree. Now—"

"That will be something else we'll talk about tonight," Jack interrupted.

"Jess, go to your room. Leslie—well, I guess you'll have to go with him…."

"Why, so they can plot their escape from this mess together?" Jack demanded.

"They won't be getting out of this," Nancy said firmly. "No matter what they do. Both of you: go."

Jess and Leslie got up silently and walked out of the room. They couldn't hear anything in the kitchen as they climbed the stairs, so they were as quiet as fully possible.

Once they were safe inside Jess's room, Leslie collapsed onto Jess's bed and Jess shut the door, heart thumping as he started to hear his parents murmur to each other in low tones.

"Nice going," he muttered without thinking; Leslie sat up slightly on his bed.

"Excuse me?"

"I_knew_ not telling them was a bad idea," Jess said to her, sighing angrily. "That day in our tree house, remember? I just—"

"Well, you didn't exactly come to the rescue with another plan, now did you?" Leslie shot at him, rolling over on her stomach and propping her head up with her hands, gazing at him with irritation. "We were stuck. We didn't know what to do."

"You know, I could have told my parents that this was all your idea," said Jess heatedly.

"And what would that have done, King Jess?" Leslie asked sweetly. "Nothing. So stop acting like you're four years old and let's try to figure out where we stand."

Fuming, Jess walked closer to her. "'_Where we stand_'? You and I both know where we stand! That forest is as good as destroyed if we're forbidden to do anything!"

"And if we're forbidden to do anything don't you think that Mr. Jacklyn might be able to stop the construction anyway?" Leslie asked with narrowed eyes.

"He said that unless enough people spoke out against the construction at a public hearing _Miranda's Outfitting!_ would still be able to build on our land."

"Well, we might be able to convince our parents that what we've been doing is right! And they'll speak against the construction!"

"Oh, okay. Why didn't I think of that?" Jess snapped. Everything he had felt within the last couple of weeks was rushing through barriers. "Oh, yeah! Because our parents will never understand why we want to save that land! They don't know about Terabithia!"

"Let's keep it that way, Jess," Leslie growled at him, nodding to the doorway.

"Good plan. Why don't we hide everything from them, then? We can tell them that school is fantastic, that you've been acting perfectly normal—"

Leslie's eyes blazed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, please. You flinch every time someone touches you. You've been cleaning your house and…and…"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know!" Jess said. He couldn't explain the difference he had seen in her. He couldn't even begin to describe the changes he had sensed. "You're just…ever since this whole construction came up and ever since Trent started looking at you all the time—"

Leslie stiffened on his bed. "Leave Trent out of this."

"God!" Jess nearly shouted; frustration was seeping through him. "What the hell is it with you and him? Why do you act this way every time I mention him?"

"I don't know what you're—"

"Yes, you do!" Jess cried. The construction was fading quickly from his mind "And stop acting like you don't! Trent—"

"_Don't say his name_."

They glared at each other for a long time, flushed with anger. Finally Jess was able to string two words together.

"Why not?"

"Just because," muttered Leslie.

"Because why?"

"Because I asked you to!" Leslie snapped at him.

"Leslie…" Jess felt lost. He saw something in Leslie's eyes that he had been trying for so long to make out, something that sent bewilderment firing into every particle of his mind. "Listen…is…" He felt himself winding down. "Is something wrong with you and him? Does he bother you?"

Leslie said nothing.

"Leslie? Please tell me."

She looked at him. "You seriously want to know?" she said so softly Jess almost missed the words. She suddenly looked so helpless, so unlike her usual fiery self that Jess's anger melted away and he sat down on the bed next to her.

"Yes," he said quietly. "What's been going on?"

Leslie stared at his blanket for a couple of minutes, clearly working up the words. Jess fought not to be impatient.

Finally she murmured, "He…he comes up to me sometimes…between classes." She stopped.

"And?" Jess prompted gently.

"And…and he talks to me. Tells me things."

"Like what?"

Leslie shook her head and laid it on her arms, defeated.

"Les? Leslie, what? What does he tell you?"

"Calls me beautiful," Leslie choked out into her arms, "tells me he loves how I look. Says he…. He says…" Her voice faltered but she looked at Jess and drew it back, "He says that he…he wants me."

"_Wants_you?"

"Yes."

Jess felt panic beating in his chest. "What exactly does he mean by that?"

"What does every guy who looks at me in that school want from me, Jess?" whispered Leslie sadly.

It took a minute for it to hit Jess. When it did he actually leapt off his bed in horror.

"Are you serious?"

Leslie turned her head away from him, ashamed.

"He's been harassing you for…for _that_…all this time?"

"He didn't word it like that," Leslie said almost silently; Jess had to read her lips to catch most of what she said. "He just…he thinks that just because I'm beautiful I'm the best…and…I guess he just wants the best."

Her sea-green eyes filled with tears and Jess stood, horrorstruck, gazing at her, the newly found information humming through his head furiously. _That was why…that was why…that was why_….

"Leslie, I'm so sorry," was all he could think of to say. Leslie didn't respond at once; instead she gazed down at the carpet and brushed away at tears spilling out of her eyes.

"Beauty is a curse," she whispered.

There was such agony in her tone Jess felt his heart ache. Again he was lost for words; again he sat down again on his bed, and simply lay down next to her because it was clear that she didn't want to get up. Leslie raised her eyes to his. The two of them were only inches apart.

"Leslie," Jess started and again, just as the day before, he found that he had nothing else to add. He just reached out and wiped away her tears with his thumb, heart leaping and warming when she reached up and placed her hand on his, pressing it on her cheek as though it could soak up her misery. She smiled and reached up with her own hand to wipe her other cheek.

"I'm being stupid," she muttered, gazing at Jess as though daring him to disagree.

Jess chose to do so. "You're not," he told her gently.

Light shone in Leslie's eyes and again Jess tried to make sense of it, tried to piece together everything he had learned, but, as before, he couldn't figure it out, couldn't put his finger on it. Nor could he define the newborn warmth inside of him….

A sudden crash on the door made them both bolt upright with a start. May Belle and Joyce Ann were barging in, backpacks over their shoulders.

"Jess! Leslie! Mom and Dad want—" May Belle stopped in mid-sentence as she saw the two of them, she and Joyce Ann halting in the middle of the room. "Um…are…we interrupting anything?"

Hurriedly Jess and Leslie scrambled off the bed.

"No—"

"Not at all…"

"We were just—"

"Nothing, really—"

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Burke are downstairs," announced Joyce Ann, she and May Belle staring wide-eyed at how flustered they were, "and they're all really angry about something."

"What did you guys do?" May Belle asked eagerly as they quickly hurried for the door.

"Nothing, May Belle…just…just stay in here, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah, we know, Jess. They told us to stay here."

"But you'll tell us everything later, right?" Joyce Ann asked.

"Yeah, sure…" Jess shut the room to his door and he and Leslie set off toward the stairs.

"Hang on," Jess muttered and as Leslie turned to him, he reach out and wiped her cheeks again with his thumbs, and smoothed back a piece of her hair that had gotten loose around her face. "There."

Leslie flushed and they both stood there silently.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," whispered Jess quietly so that neither of their parents would hear down below. "I didn't mean it."

"I'm sorry I called you a four year old," Leslie countered, and they both shared a slim smile.

"And Les…about…about, you know…"

"Jess? Leslie?" came Nancy's call from downstairs. "Come down here_now_!"

Jess took a deep breath and heard Leslie do the same. They gazed at each other again and Jess knew he didn't need to finish what he tried to say.

"Ready?"

"As always, my king."

As they crept silently down the stairs into the living room, Jess felt grasp his hand, felt her fingers intertwine with his. Jess knew what she meant.

And as that warmth flared up inside of him again, he felt all frustration and hopelessness drain away from his mind and he found that he was able to hold his head a little higher as they walked, grasping her hand tightly in return.

* * *

**Okay, my amazing, outstanding readers and reviewers:**

**I expected to update this so much sooner, but, as those of you who read my profile can see, so many things have been going on in my life right now and I've been overwhelmed. For those of you who care to know, read on, for those who don't: thank you very much for reading this chapter, please review if you wouldn't mind, and stay tuned; and you can stop reading now. :D**

**I can't say this directly, and I don't know when I'll be able to, but I'll just say that Leslie and I (in this fanfic, at least) have a lot in common and even though it's been a long time, recent circumstances have brought back memories I tried to forget. In addition, my mother and step-father are splitting up and all hell has been breaking loose in my home (not to mention work and school…).**

**I say all this not to scare you guys off, but because I know a lot of you have been upset with me for not updating and I felt like you guys deserved an explanation as to why I couldn't work on this story. Thank you all again, so, so, so very much for your undying support and for reviewing (and I hope you will do so again for this chapter) and hopefully chapter ten will be out for you guys soon enough!**

**To those of you who have been reading **_**So Changed: **_**expect an update later this week!**

**Thank you again!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's Chapter 10! Enjoy!**

* * *

They were done for. 

Neither Jess nor Leslie had to look at each other as they sat down on the couch (as instructed) to know that the other was thinking the same thing. The dire looks on all four adults were enough to firmly plant this thought in their minds.

"Okay," Jack thundered once they had settled on the couch, looking anywhere but at each other, "now you two are going to tell us everything that you've been doing regarding that forest and our Council President from downtown, and why you haven't said anything before."

So they talked. Like criminals with flashlights aimed at their eyes, Jess and Leslie spoke into the silence.

"So that land back there…we really feel attached to it, you know—"

"And we found out that a company called _Miranda's Outfitting_! was going to destroy it illegally—"

"And we just wanted to let our Council President know what was going on—"

"We didn't want any innocent land being ripped up—"

"Hang on," said Judy, frowning. "You're leaving details out, I can tell…"

"Absolutely," Nancy said and Bill added, "How did you find out about this illegal construction?"

And so they told their parents of the phone call they had made months ago, and the tension in the air intensified as they continued to speak.

"You said that you were going over to the Burkes to do math," Jack shot at Jess, who squirmed under his father's glare.

"You've been lying to us for all this time?" Nancy said in a heated tone.

"We…we didn't mean—"

"Let them finish," Bill said, looking over toward the two of them. "What did you say to Greg Jacklyn?"

Again they spoke in turns, describing their visit to their Council President, including the results that he had predicted.

"And he said that unless enough people would speak out against the construction—"

"Our land can still be constructed on—"

"_Your_ land," Jack said with narrowed eyes.

"Well, not technically _our_ land, but—"

"I don't think you guys realize what you've done here," Jack said furiously, as though analyzing their explanations. "Not only have you lied to our faces and messed around with business companies, but you've been trespassing on Strellgate's land for all this time. You realize that he could have fined us?"

"And that we would have had to pay him money we don't have?" Nancy tacked on.

"He didn't mind," Jess said defensively. "He's even seen us over there and he didn't care that we went across his land to get to the forest—"

"What I want to know," said Judy and all eyes turned to her, "is why you kids would be so concerned about this little spit of land. I mean, yes, it's innocent forest, but you guys act like it's your child or something—"

"Oh, please do _not_ put that idea into their heads," Nancy shot over at Judy. "The last thing we need right now is _two _grandchildren—"

"I _meant_," Judy interrupted rather coolly, "that Jess and Leslie seem very protective over this piece of land—"

Jack and Bill interrupted at the same time.

"Yes, why exactly is this forest so important, here?"

"I can't see why, seeing what happened down there six years ago—"

"That's enough!" Nancy said loudly. "Jess, Leslie, _why_ do you continue to go down to that forest—?"

"—especially after you were almost _killed_, Leslie! I would think—"

"There is _no_ reason you guys should even be wandering around in the middle of goddamn nowhere—"

"Anything could happen down there…there are animals, the creek—"

"Not to mention there could be criminals—"

"Let them speak!" roared Bill over all the noise. "You two—explain. _Why_ are you going to such lengths to protect this land?"

Finally Jess and Leslie looked at each other; the fact that they were unwilling to reveal that piece of information must have shown on their faces, because all four of their parents jumped on them almost at once.

"Oh, so you've been keeping even more freaking secrets, haven't you?"

"For God's sake, this is getting absolutely ridiculous—"

"You guys better spill because we are _not_ going to waste any more time here—"

"And if this has anything to do with law then I can assure you that you will be stripped of privileges—"

"_Completely_ stripped of privileges, as far as I'm concerned—"

"Why you would even be interested in this land is _beyond_ me—"

"You have _no_ idea—"

"Utterly insane—"

"Trespassing and lying to our faces, now what?!"

Neither Jess or Leslie dared look at each other again, nor did they dare try to speak over all the shouting. Jess realized, with an unpleasant twist in his stomach, that this was exactly the treatment Brenda and Ellie had received weeks before. So this was how they had felt.

Finally Bill took charge.

"Let them speak!" he said again. "You guys better have a good reason for this—" Again the other three parents burst out angrily again but he hurriedly put up a hand to silence them and raised his voice, "—and you had better tell us that reason."

"_Now_," the rest of them said.

Jess felt his heart clenching with alarm…only one thought was passing through his mind repeatedly: _They can't know…not Terabithia…anything else…_

"This land," Leslie spoke softly and slowly—almost hesitantly—into the deathly quiet and Jess silently thanked her for speaking first, "is more to us then a bunch of dirt and trees and water. It's not just…it's not just a piece of land like it is to the company who's building on it. It's a place we can always count on…a place that we could go to when we were younger, to escape from everything in our lives that was going wrong."

The silence's tension had lifted and the looks on their parents' faces had changed. Jess felt admiration for Leslie sweep through him; he still dared not look at her but his heart stopped thudding as he realized that she had put the truth out to their parents as far as she could—without saying the name Terabithia.

"Seeing it destroyed would be…" Leslie paused slightly, then went on in the same quiet, sad tone, "it would be like seeing our refuge permanently gone and ruined. Like…like we would be seeing our _childhood_ ruined. And that would mean that…that…"

"That we finally have to face growing up," Jess said just as quietly and all attention shifted toward him. Leslie turned to look at him in unspoken astonishment and Jess met her gaze; they looked at each other for an instant before turning back to their parents, but not before Jess caught that new expression in Leslie's eyes. So she had had trouble finding words, too.

"We want things to be the way they were," Leslie said and Jess heard her voice trembling with emotion. "The way things were when Jess and I first met. Where we could just play and not have to worry about real life. Because real life...like school, and, and things at home...could really be hard sometimes."

"And it still can," Jess added quietly.

The silence was so overpowering after all the yelling that Jess wondered for a moment if they had shocked their parents out of their voice boxes. Judy and Bill glanced at each other, as did Jack and Nancy, and Jess pounced on the opportunity to look at Leslie again; again their eyes met and she smiled slightly, that new something glittering gently in her eyes. Jess looked into them and tried, _tried_ to recognize what it was—

"You say Strellgate didn't mind you being on his land?" asked Jack quietly, and Jess and Leslie turned back to look at the four of them.

"He's known we go on that land," Jess said, and Leslie added, "And he hasn't cared at all. He hasn't tried to stop us or anything."

There was another pause. The adults looked around at each other. 

"Well?" Judy said suddenly.

"Uh…right, listen…" Bill said in a very soft tone. "Uh…" He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Can…we ask you guys something?"

Confused, they both nodded.

"If…if you wouldn't mind telling us…" Bill looked around at his wife, Jack, and Nancy as though asking for help, and when none of them said a word he looked back at the two of them, "are…uh…_are_ things the way they were? When you two first met?"

"Well, no, not really," Jess said and was alarmed to see all of them suck in their breaths with horror. "I mean, we're going to high school now and everything, and we can't exactly run around all the time like we used to—"

"No, no," Jack said, looking immensely relieved, as did the rest of them, that he had misunderstood the question, "we mean…are things…well…are they…?"

"Are things the way they were between you two now as they were when you first met as children?" Nancy asked softly.

"As _friends_?" prompted Judy.

Yet another silence dominated the room.

"Yes," both Jess and Leslie said at the same time.

"Just as before?"

"Just as before," repeated Leslie simply and Jess added, "_Friends_."

"Nothing more?"

"No."

"Nothing."

Jess thought that the anxiety that had dominated the room before had vanished; he certainly could see it fading from his parents' faces but he had a feeling it hadn't disappeared completely. Sure enough, Jack sort of straightened himself up and said, "Well."

"That's that, then," murmured Judy.

"Okay, Jess. You are grounded," Nancy said and Bill said quietly, "As are you, Leslie," but Jess could see that most of their anger had evaporated.

They both nodded in surrender, but Jess couldn't help but feel that he hadn't lost anything. "Okay."

"And I'm sure we'll be working out details and we'll let you know about those in a little bit," said Judy and Nancy nodded in agreement.

"Jess, to your room, please," Jack said.

Bill added, "Leslie, go ahead and walk back to the house. We'll be talking about this for a while."

Jess and Leslie tentatively left the room. The four adults were still silent as they left so Jess realized that they were waiting for them to separate and leave before they continued talking.

"Tomorrow," he mouthed to Leslie and she nodded. She walked out the kitchen door, headed for her house, and he hurriedly climbed the stairs, making his steps loud and opening and shutting the door to Brenda and Ellie's empty room so they would think he was in his.

Sure enough, the adults started talking.

"Well," Judy said, as though asking a question.

"'Well' indeed," muttered Jack.

"What do you think?" Bill asked softly.

"What do I _think_?" Jack repeated faintly. "I don't know. I think…"

"That they have a good reason?" Judy prompted and Jess heard his father sigh.

"Yes. I didn't think I'd say this, but they do."

"That doesn't stop their actions from being unacceptable," Nancy said.

"I never said it did."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Judy said. "Punish them?"

"They're good kids…with good intentions," murmured Bill, "and they're trying to save their bit of land…"

"First of all, it's not _their_ land," Nancy said coldly, "and the actions involved with saving that territory involve making appointments with Council Presidents _behind_ our backs, _lying_ to our faces—"

"That was wrong, yes," Bill said, "but they did it because they thought it was best. Those kids are—"

"For heaven's sake," Jack butted in, "they're sixteen already. Neither of them are kids anymore, no matter how much we try to deny it—"

"If anything, _they're_ the ones denying it," Nancy snorted, "by acting this way, as though they were ten years old all over again. And I _refuse_ to believe that they are _just _fr—"

"That is beside the point, Nancy," Jack spoke over her. "The question is: what are we supposed to do about this construction? It's obvious that they feel like they need this land—"

"I think the question we _should_ be asking is: how are we punishing them for lying to us and sneaking around downtown—?"

"Okay, okay, Nancy, how about this? Jess can't have the truck for a while until we cam trust that they won't go downtown alone again anytime soon. I'll take 'em to school every day next week and the rest of this week…."

"You seriously think _that _will have an impact on them?" Nancy demanded.

"Are we trying to severely punish them, here?" Judy asked quietly. "They're doing a good thing. Yes, they lied to us. We can have Leslie restricted for a while, perhaps give her some more chores, and you can have Jess do whatever you feel is necessary…."

"I think that sounds reasonable," Bill said and Judy added, "And we can watch them a little more carefully to make sure they won't be sneaking off to this land of theirs to do whatever they've been doing down there—"

"_Watch them more carefully_? Am I the only one here concerned about what those two could be _doing_ besides meeting with Council Presidents?"

"I don't see anything else we should even remotely be considering—"

"Oh, really? Have you _seen_ how they are lately?"

"They said they were friends," Bill said incredulously.

"We're getting off the point, here," Jack nearly shouted over Nancy as she started to speak. "We all know what's coming and we might as well be prepared for it when it does, so yes, Nancy, you do have a point. But right now we need to be focused on the penalties for their actions…and what we can do to help them with this saving of that forest."

"_Help _them?" thundered Nancy. "Are you crazy?"

"Why are you so determined to punish them?" Judy suddenly snapped out, and Jess jumped with surprise. "I honestly think that—"

"Listen! If they start hiding things like this, all of this can lead to bigger stuff! We can't just have them going off and talking to Council Presidents without worrying about what else they could be up to—"

"What else are you so convinced they're up to? Are you thinking of Brenda?"

There was an awkward, deadly pause that seeped through every particle of the downstairs domain and up to the stairs. Jess felt his heart skip a beat.

"Don't you dare bring my daughter into this," Nancy said quietly, and Jess's blood chilled at the hostility in her tone.

"Look, Nancy…." Judy sounded helpless. "I'm sorry but…but I think you're getting concerned over Jess and Leslie because—"

"Judy didn't mean to insult you two...or your daughter," Bill interrupted. "I'm sure she was just pointing out that she realizes that your concern here is that our kids could start hiding things bigger than going to forests and Council Presidents."

"That's exactly what I just said," Nancy said and her voice trembled. "I just…I just don't want to see Jess turn out badly…B-Brenda…and Ellie…they've already…." Her voice died and the room's atmosphere wound down completely.

"Nancy, Jack, Brenda is going to be fine," Bill's voice said quietly. "And Ellie will be, too. There are some things that they need to work out by themselves."

"They'll turn out okay in the end, I'm sure," said Judy earnestly.

"I know they will," Nancy said and by her strangled voice, Jess was sure she was crying. "But…but Jess…he's had such awful examples…I can't help but feel as though—"

"Nancy, honey," Jack said quietly, "listen to what you're saying. He's got Leslie. That girl's done more with him then any of us have been able to do—or _will_ be able to do."

"Very true. And just because you two have busy lives doesn't mean he doesn't have good examples," Judy pointed out, and Bill added, "Exactly. You both have raised a wonderful young man."

"There is nothing we need to be concerned about as of now," Jack said, "other than giving those kids…or young adults, whatever you want to call them…some punishment for a little dishonesty."

"Plus we should see about these public hearings and what we could do to help them out," Bill said, "because I really do think they are doing a good thing."

"Absolutely," Judy said and Jess heard his mother take a shaky breath.

"I do, too," she murmured. "But…but I want to be sure…that they both understand what they've done."

"Of course," Jack said soothingly. "I think they both got a very good idea as we stood here yelling at them."

There was a ripple of soft chuckles and Judy said, "We'll go talk to Leslie."

"She's a good girl. I'm sure she understands the seriousness of this as well as Jess does," Jack added and Jess heard the adults move off the couches.

"Some extra chores and no truck for the rest of this week and next?" Bill asked.

"Sounds okay. They won't die," Jack said.

"How will they get to school?" Nancy asked. "The buses?"

"No, I'll take them. High school buses are hell, anyway," Jack answered and Jess smiled in spite of himself. "And tomorrow after their school is out one of us could take them downtown so we could all speak to Greg Jacklyn."

"Sounds good," Bill said and Jess heard them walking through to the kitchen. "Let's see…punishment. What should we do here, Judy?"

"Maybe we'll just make Les clean out our shower…" Judy said. "She'd be good at it, too; she's been cleaning like a madwoman lately," she added and the adults laughed lightly.

"Thanks for coming down here," Jack said.

"No problem," both Bill and Judy answered and Nancy said, "I'll call you in the morning, Judy."

"Sounds good," Judy said and Jess knew she was giving his mother a hug. "We'll talk later, Nancy, Jack."

"Okay."

"See you soon, I bet."

"Bye."

The kitchen door closed. It was uneasily silent and Jess felt his heart thudding. He heard his father sigh.

"What a picnic," Jack said heavily as he and Nancy walked back to the living room.

"Well, at least—" Nancy started but she stopped suddenly, and Jess knew that Jack had shushed her.

"Jess?" he heard Jack's voice suddenly, "I know you're up there and you've been listening to every word we were saying so you might as well come down here for a second."

Jess gulped. He got up and silently walked down the stairs, dread seeping through him.

His parents stared at him as he walked into the living room. "Er…" he said awkwardly.

"I thought I told you to go to your room," Nancy said, halfheartedly, and Jess looked at his feet.

"I'm sorry," he murmured to the carpet, and he was surprised when both of them chuckled. "What?" he asked, looking up. "Having fun planning what chores I'll be doing?"

"Jess…" Jack looked at Nancy momentarily before turning back to his son. "Listen. We're not as angry with you as we were when we got that call today, but from now on we would prefer if you told us the truth about these sort of things."

"Okay, Jess?" Nancy asked softly.

Jess nodded. "Okay."

"With that said, after school this week and next I want you to help me do some cleaning around the house," Nancy said, and Jess nodded again. "Oh, and whenever Brenda's craving anything from downtown you've got to go and get it."

"What?" Jess yelped before he realized she was joking. Her eyes smiled at him and Jack shook his head in amusement. He smiled and Jess rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Will do."

"And Jess, out of curiosity here…" Jack asked, studying him carefully, "is there anything else that you want to tell us?"

"Anything else going on that we should be aware of?" Nancy added on.

Jess stared at his parents for a moment, thinking…

The way Leslie's eyes had changed completely so many times during the last few weeks…how his heart pounded faster and something inside him seem to jump whenever she smiled, or studied him, or touched his hand… How different she had acted because of Trent…

_Trent_….

"No," Jess said quietly with a small shrug. "No, nothing I can think of."

Jack and Nancy glanced at each other, then turned back to him. "Are you sure?" Nancy asked gently.

"Is there anything in particular that I should be telling you?" Jess asked his parents. "You want to know if we go out at night, smoking and drinking and doing drugs and crap like that, right?"

They both smiled wearily. "Yes, something like that."

"Well, we don't," Jess said, and for some reason he felt as though he needed to say something else, regarding another topic he wasn't sure he wanted to touch on, but he held his tongue. "I promise we don't."

"I know you don't," Jack replied, and Nancy quietly said it was past dinnertime.

Jess trudged up the stairs once again, savoring the quiet and trying to organize his thoughts into categories so they at least made sense. The instant he opened the door to his room, however, his thinking went flying as May Belle and Joyce Ann pounced on him.

"What happened? What did you guys do? Where's Leslie? Why was there screaming? How come you're in trouble?" Questions bounced off of Jess's mind so rapidly that he didn't have time to register them, and he put up a hand to his sisters as though trying to fight off their demands.

"Nothing! It's nothing, you guys. I've been hounded enough today…just stop…." He walked over to his bed and flopped down onto his blankets, reaching under the bed for his sketchbook and trying to ignore his sisters. They were merciless.

"Oh, come _on_, Jess! You said you'd tell us! Why was everyone yelling at you? Did you and Leslie do something bad?"

"No, we didn't…we just lied a little bit and that got them upset…"

"But—"

"Listen! I can't take this right now." Jess put a hand to his forehead in irritation and begged them, "Please just leave me alone right now, okay? Go ask Mom and Dad if you're so determined for answers."

To his immense relief May Belle and Joyce Ann flew out of the room and charged down the stairs to the kitchen, where Nancy was now throwing together dinner, by the sounds of clanking pots that was echoing up to the room. Jess sighed and closed his eyes wearily, wanting more than anything to have Leslie beside him. She would analyze what had happened and make him feel better…she would give him the comfort he needed….

Leslie.

He felt a prickle of anger inside of him that had nothing to do with Terabithia. No one harassed _his_ Queen. Not one person had the right to turn Leslie into a dull copy of what she truly was…and Trent had certainly tarnished everything Jess knew her to be...

Jess sat in gloomy silence on his bed and he gazed at the picture of Leslie he had drawn before she went to Niagara Falls with her parents that past summer, listening to his parents trying to ward off his younger sisters and, as time wore on, his elder sisters coming through the back door with complaints involving everything under the sun.

He ate dinner in silence and ignored his sisters as they pestered him with questions, gratefully kissing his mother on the cheek when she excused him earlier then usual, and he went back up to his room. He was surprised when May Belle entered the room after about an hour with the phone in her hand.

"It's Leslie," she said as she handed the phone to Jess, brow furrowed with confusion. "And Mom said not to talk for too long, she said something about you guys planning too many things in one day."

Jess blissfully took the phone from her and she hurried from the room. Relief spread through him as held the phone up to his ear.

"Hey, Les," he said happily. "Are you okay? We really—"

"Jess." His heart jumped at her horrified tone. "Oh, my God, Jess…you're not going to believe…we just…we just—"

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, panicked, relief fading from him quickly. "What is it?"

"Jess…" With a start, Jess realized Leslie was crying. "Jess…Bill and Judy wanted to see the land we were talking about…I took them down there...to Terabithia and…I…I know no one's ever been there b-but us…"

"Leslie, it's okay," Jess said, shocked. "Don't be upset over that…everyone's going to see that land sometime..."

"No, you don't understand…." Jess could barely comprehend her words, as her voice was so out of control. "Our—"

"Calm down, I can't understand you," said Jess with alarm, speaking desperately into the phone. "What's the matter, Les?"

"Jess…" Leslie took a shaky breath, "our tree house is gone."

* * *

**All right you guys, a couple things to mention here. So I was a little nervous to post this chapter; I tried to imagine exactly how the four parents would react according to their characters as we know them, and also whether or not they would think about the entire mess differently after they heard Jess and Leslie's explanation as to why they were going to such lengths to protect their land****. The four parents aren't heartless, after all. ;) However, if you disagree with the way the parents reacted (and I'm sure at least some of you out there do), I would love to hear your comments and/or suggestions. I'm not sure if I did it right.  
**

**I'm sorry to leave you guys at a cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist. :D This story could do with more action rather than drama, so I decided it was high time I adjusted things accordingly. I'll post the next chapter (as always) as soon as I possibly can. **

**And finally, I received so many lovely, thoughtful PMs from so many of you readers after I posted the last chapter that I almost went into shock. You guys are truly amazing; thank you so much for your kindness and for taking the time to give me comfort. Your words were so needed and cherished** ** and I feel so lucky to have so much support -- even if it's all through the Internet and keyboards:D**

**Again, I'll update as soon as I can; thanks again for reading and feel free to leave me comments! They are appreciated as always. :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, everybody! So, here's chapter 11…sorry about the delay in updating but I have a feeling this chapter will make up for that inconvenience ****slightly ****…. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Their week of "grounding" had expired before Jess was even allowed to go near the forest. He knew what to expect as he entered the woods—bundled up against the newborn chill to keep his mother from nagging—and he knew what was coming as he stepped into the opening of trees they had always entered when they arrived at Terabithia, but that did nothing to soften the shock and despair that sank through him as he saw the mass of splintered wooden planks that had been their castle crumbled in a heap on the frosty ground.

The spray paint was up once more and again the stakes were driven into the ground; Jess took pictures of the evidence and Jack drove him down to see Greg Jacklyn for the second time that week. The first trip had been made with all four parents in tow, and the Council President had been able to explain the situation on _Miranda's Outfitting!_ to them (in other words, he had explained the fact that they were illegally trying to build on the land). Jess had felt tremendously guilty as he entered the office, expecting to be reprehended for not revealing the secret to his parents, but Mr. Jacklyn seemed to have truly understood.

"They know now, and that is what matters," he had said simply, and Jess had released the issue without further thought.

The second trip regarding the paint and the stakes sparked another call from the Lark Creek Town Council to the headquarters of _Miranda's Outfitting!_ with no prevail. The "manager" was not in, the person who had answered the phone had apparently said. Yet the town board had not seemed worried in the least.

"We'll find them," Mr. Jacklyn had assured Jess that Saturday in December, "and they'll have consequences."

"And the hearings?"

"They'll be organized as soon as we can get our hands around them—and we'll be sure to let you know when that is."

This had provided a little comfort. If enough people could speak out against the construction, if no one stood up and openly declared their desire for a clothing store… Jess thought of his sisters and their obsessions with their wardrobes, thought of the way Brenda had lately been trying to find ways to irritate him, and felt sickened.

Leslie was beyond despair.

"We can't let them do it," she was murmuring under her breath on the way to school one chilly morning. "We can't. It's not right…."

"Les, will you calm down? The hearings will be up and running soon and we can give them our reasons why the land shouldn't be ripped up."

"I am _so_ sick of people taking advantage of others," Leslie went on muttering as though he had not spoken. "And when they haven't done anything wrong…to get treated this way…it's getting ridiculous…."

Something twisted inside of Jess's stomach, and he had a feeling that she was no longer talking about the clothing company.

"Leslie, listen. I think you should go into the office today and tell them what's going on with Trent…"

Leslie froze and her eyes went wide. "I can't do that, Jess! If he ever found out—"

"He'd what? Try to break out of juvenile prison?"

"He wouldn't be sent to jail just for coming up and talking to me all the time!"

"You could tell them anything you want and they'll believe you," Jess said without thinking as he pulled into the school parking lot. "Just say he's been touching you or whatever and they'd eat it up."

To his horror her eyes filled with tears and she shot him such a wounded look he felt his heart twinge. "Les, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that—"

"That's easy for you to say!" she cried at him as the truck came to a stop. "You boys have it so freaking easy. You don't know _anything_ about abuse!"

"Leslie—"

She was out the door and rushing for the school before he could say another word, tears bright in her eyes, and Jess hastily locked the truck and hurried after her.

"Leslie!"

She was gone; she had vanished in the enormous crowd that their school was dominated by. Jess felt wretched, unworthy of anything that he had ever received in his life. What had he been thinking? Of course she would get upset by his suggesting she say that Trent abused her…how stupid could he have possibly been?

He sat in self-guilt for the first two periods and practically ran to find Leslie at third; when he arrived at the gym she was not there, but Couch said that it was too cold for them to do things outside and that they could do whatever they wanted for the rest of the hour—a first. Jess frantically looked around for Leslie in the passages surrounding the class but she was nowhere to be found. He searched around the gym—avoiding basketballs that were flying past him as several people in his class began a game—then headed to the locker hallways by walking through the exit door, hoping to find her there.

Leslie was in the hallways, all right, sitting up against the wall with wet tracks trailing down her cheeks, and she was surrounded by three girls from their gym class. Jess recognized them to be Rachel and two of her friends—a portion of the girls who had been glaring at her ever since they laid eyes on her on the first day of school.

"…don't have any idea how stupid you look," one of the girls was saying snidely as Jess entered the hallways. All three of them were standing, towering over her, but she didn't seem to care. "I mean, what _are_ you? Three years old?"

"Well, if she doesn't bother to wear makeup then I think it's unlikely she'll be wearing anything from this _century_ any time soon," another girl snorted and the first girl snickered.

"Not that you seem to care. Isn't that right, Leslie? Your fun just goes to entertaining all sorts of guys whenever they feel like it—though I don't know why they'd want to be anywhere near you." The three girls shared a cruel laugh. "Aw, what's the matter, Leslie?" they simpered. "Look at her. She's _crying_. How cute is that?"

Jess felt anger tight in his chest. He walked over to them and his footsteps drew their attention. Leslie looked up to him, looking surprised to see him there; the girls' mouths opened, big, plastic smiles on their faces, but before they could speak Jess irritably asked, "Is there a problem here?"

"Hi, Jess," one of the girls cooed and the other two giggled. Their attention had shifted completely. "So, how are you—?"

"You know, if you haven't got anything better to do besides torturing other people then you three are more pathetic than you look," Jess shot out at Rachel and her friends. They blinked with surprise—Jess could see their fake eyelashes swatting up and down—and feigned hurt looks, pouting their red lips pitifully.

"Oh, come on, Jesse. Like we were being mean to her!"

"And if we were, why would _you_ care, Jess? What is she to you?"

"She's my best friend," Jess said angrily. "And—"

"_Why_?" one of the girls interrupted, casting a silent Leslie a dirty look. "She's a freaking hippie, for God's sake. She looks _awful_."

Jess smiled as he realized why the girls hated Leslie so much. "Take it from a guy, she's prettier than you guys will ever be," he told them and this time the girls didn't need to fake their outrage, he saw it clearly in their heavily layered faces. "And she doesn't have to smear on any of that crap you guys are always reaching for and putting on. Speaking of which, why don't you guys do us a favor and go work on that now?"

The girls gave him death looks as they stomped out toward the gym. One of them turned around as they walked out the door and snapped, "You're a _jerk_, Jesse!"

"Have fun with your hippie girlfriend," another huffed and the other swore at him loudly as the door closed, leaving the hall silent as the grave except for a faint ticking of a clock at the top of the wall.

Jess walked over to where Leslie was noiselessly gazing at the floor with tears lightly running down her face, sliding down the wall so he was sitting next to her. He reached up with one hand and softly brushed some of the wetness away from her cheeks.

"You okay?" he asked gently and she nodded, still looking at the shiny white floor. Having a feeling that her tears had nothing to do with Rachel and her friends, Jess went on awkwardly, "I…Listen, Les, I'm really sorry…I shouldn't have said that this morning…."

She nodded again but she still said nothing and she didn't look at him. They were silent for a while.

"That's not true, you know," she murmured after some time had passed, breaking the heavy silence.

"No, I _shouldn't_ have said that," Jess said, feeling guilty all over again. "I mean, you were already—"

"No, not that…" She trailed off, then quietly went on, "I'm not prettier than those girls will ever be. They're just misunderstood. They all look nice but they don't really think it, you know. That's why they try to make me feel bad."

Jess felt that breathtaking, almost unbearable warmth spread through him and his heart seemed to skip a beat in his chest as he felt a small smile spread on his face. To think Leslie held no grudge for girls who idiotically hated her…. He wanted to say so many things to her at that moment but he had no words to say them…and even if he did he had no way of knowing what she would think, how she would react….

Leslie turned to look at him and the gentleness of her eyes melted Jess over all over again; before he could stop himself he reached for her hand and took it in his own, wrapping his fingers around his. She leaned back against the wall and clutched his hand in return.

"Thank you," she whispered to him and that new expression in her eyes was suddenly there again; they were full of light and strength and sadness all at the same time, and something else that Jess couldn't decipher.

"Leslie…" Jess tried to find words suitable for what he found he had to say, "I…I know you think it's a curse…but…but it…it _is_ true, you know. Even if you…if you don't like the way it is…or…." He saw confusion drift across her face and he sighed, understanding that he would have to put it bluntly. "You really are beautiful," he managed to say and the overwhelming look she gave him was worth the heat rising in his face, "and…and you shouldn't ever think of it as a bad thing. And don't you let anyone make you think it is."

Leslie just looked at him with aching eyes. After what seemed like minutes, hours, days had passed she slowly leaned toward him so that they were one or two inches apart, so that Jess felt her warm breath near his lips. Instantly he felt waves of emotions he didn't understand running through him—but before he could register what they were, Leslie simply lowered her face to his neck and silently rested her head on his shoulder in utter surrender. By the way her shoulders were shaking and by her little sniffs and shaky gasps for air, Jess gathered that for the second time that day, he had made her cry.

"Leslie, I'm so sorry…" He started as he wrapped her arms around her but Leslie shook her head against his neck.

"N-No, Jess…I just…don't…from you, it's…it's not…b-but…but that forest…Trent…." She broke off and just hugged him, clutching at him almost desperately, crying onto his shoulder. He could feel her heart beating against his and he felt his own heart rate speed up dramatically. Bemused, acting as though on instinct, Jess in turn hugged her to him as tightly as he could without crushing her, running his fingers through her hair and letting her cry.

He stopped questioning her despair at that point, and instead he gently cupped his palm around the back of her neck, weaving through her hair, to keep her where she wanted to be. And that thought, simply knowing that she wanted to be with _him_, above everyone else, made his own confusion and misery fade slightly as they sat there for the rest of the period, living, for that moment, alone in a profound and heavy silence.

OOO

"Let's see…month four: ankle swelling, continued morning sickness, heartburn…." It was breakfast, and Ellie was reading aloud a little too cheerfully from the pregnancy book she had picked up a couple of weeks before. "Oh, and starting from month five it looks like you start to actually show. Congratulations, Brendie."

"Shut…up," growled Brenda from across the kitchen table. Her face was white and her dark hair was mussed slightly; she had apparently just been throwing up everything on her stomach in the bathroom. Jess would not have gone anywhere near her but he still needed to eat, so he had taken breakfast as far away from her as possible, which unfortunately resulted in him eating at the counter next to the oven. "I'm only at month three."

"This is just an intro," said Ellie sweetly and Jess wanted to run from the look on Brenda's face. "I'm only prepping you."

"Ellie, leave your sister alone," Jack said wearily from the head of the table. "And for God's sake, Jess, why are you acting like there's a rabid dog at our table?"

"Don't make me answer that," Jess muttered, and Brenda raised her flashing eyes to him.

"What's that supposed to mean? You spend all that time with your girlfriend's dog—E.T. or whatever—and you certainly don't—"

"Brenda, _I_ was joking," Jack interrupted, "and so was Jess."

Snarling, Brenda turned back to her cereal just as Joyce Ann said quietly, "It's P.T."

Brenda's head shot up. "Excuse me?"

"His name is _P_.T.," muttered Joyce Ann. "Not E.T."

There was a ringing silence at the table. Then Brenda stood up, her eyes narrowed and snapping.

"Well, _thank you_, Joyce, for correcting me," she said, fury taking over her tone completely. "Wow, you know what? I would have been _so_ lost if you hadn't taken the time to correct me on that. God! You are so freaking nice! _Thank you_! _Thank_ _you_ for correcting me! Why don't you guys join in? Am I doing everything right? _Do I need any other supervisors_?"

Nancy rested her head on her hand, closing her eyes. May Belle and Joyce Ann looked at each other, scared, and Ellie hastily fixed her attentions to the pregnancy book. Not thinking, Jess let out a groan of frustration that was eaten up by his sister.

"What about _you_, Jess? Do you have any problems with me? Because I _love_ it when people are always on my case about anything and everything, every goddamn day of the week—"

"Brenda," Nancy murmured quietly but Brenda wasn't listening.

"Why doesn't your girlfriend come over so she can help this family fix me? She's the perfect one, right? Does _she_ ever need correcting, Jess? Huh? Does your girlfriend ever do anything wrong?"

Jack took the heat for him.

"Leslie has nothing to do with this, Brenda, and you know that. And there's no need to start telling people off, all right? Joycie didn't mean to upset you." Jess was surprised at the gentleness of his father's tone. "Why don't you go lay down on the couch and read that parenting book we got you? I can go down to the store and bring you back a slushy."

"What am I, five years old?" growled Brenda.

"You sure act like it," muttered Ellie but thankfully she was not overheard, as Brenda was already stomping out of the kitchen and soon Jess heard the creak of the couch from the other room.

Jack and Nancy exchanged looks.

"You kids better hurry off to school," Nancy said quietly. "The school bus will be here soon, girls, and Jess, you can't keep Leslie waiting."

Jess didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the rest of his toast off his plate and hurried for the door, pulling Joyce Ann's ponytail softly in understanding before leaving. He went through the living room—risking Brenda's remarks but fortunately she didn't see him—so he could look at their Christmas tree. It was a real pine tree, and the earthy smell of it made Jess long for the forest that was slowly being destroyed.

When he finally got outside Leslie was waiting silently on his porch, staring at either the ground or PT running in circles next to her—it was hard to tell. She looked up almost in alarm when Jess walked out the door.

"Oh—hey," she said, her face lighting up as Jess came up to her. "PT…kind of wanted to say hi."

Jess smiled and looked at the dog that was grinning up at him, panting. "Hi," Jess said cheerfully. PT wagged his tail.

"You know, it's almost Christmas," Jess added thoughtfully, this time addressing Leslie. "It's weird we haven't gotten anything else from Mr. Jacklyn on that company, isn't it?"

"I guess," Leslie said. "But he did say that once they tracked _Miranda's Outfitting!_ down he'd fine them or something, for trying to build illegally without permission …on our land," she added darkly. "Then we'd get the hearings."

Jess sighed.

"What?" Leslie said softly, brow creasing in concern, "That's a good thing, right?"

"Well, yeah…it's just…." Jess looked down at PT again. "You ever get the feeling that you're the only one fighting in this…this huge freaking war and everyone's against you?"

"Brenda again?" asked Leslie gently.

"Yeah." Jess glanced up again. "And…I've just been thinking…what if people don't see the reason in keeping that land safe and protected?"

"It'll be okay," Leslie told him. "When the hearings are organized we can get people to protest. We'll _give_ them reasons."

"But…well, what if people protest _against _the protest?"

Awareness suddenly dawned on Leslie's face. "You think Brenda's going to object to our saving the land, don't you?"

"No. I _know_ she'll be attending and saying Lark Creek needs another clothing store," Jess said heavily. "If she ever finds out when and where the hearings are…I'm telling you, we're doomed."

"I never thought of that," breathed Leslie, looking horrorstruck. "Jess, she hasn't…she's not really angry with you right now, is she?"

Jess couldn't help a laugh. "You're forgetting she's pregnant. And the last time she _hasn't_ been angry with me was when I was three years old, Les."

"Oh, God," Leslie said, then she jumped as she checked her watch. "We're going to be late for school."

"Yep, we sure don't want to miss a second of the joys of _that_ place," Jess said dryly and Leslie laughed, swatting his shoulder playfully as they walked toward the truck. He felt his heart jump and his skin warmed at her touch…and again confusion utterly swarmed his mind—

"All right, then, let's go. Jess?" Leslie looked into his face uncertainly. "You were joking, right?"

Jess mentally shook himself back to reality.

"Right, yeah. School. I—I was joking." He gestured helplessly to the truck where it sat undisturbed in front of them. "Do you want to drive?"

OOO

After school when Jess walked into his kitchen his little sisters were at the table doing homework and his mother was on the phone. Nancy whipped around when she heard the door close.

"Oh, you know what? He just came in now…did you want to talk to him…? Of course, yes…okay, thank you. Here he is." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and told Jess, "It's Greg Jacklyn. Says he's got some news for you."

Heart pounding, Jess hurriedly took the phone from his mother and asked, "Hello?"

"Hey, Jess! It's Greg from downtown. How are you?"

"Pretty good," Jess said nervously. "And…and you?"

"Fine, thank you. So all systems are go on your hearings," and before Jess could speak he went on, "Long story short: the owners of Miranda's Outfitting are going through some paperwork and fines that they wouldn't have had to go through had it not been for you and your friend, and pretty soon Lark Creek will be hosting the hearings in which you are allowed to speak against the construction."

Relief washed through Jess. "That's great, Mr. Jacklyn."

"It is," Mr. Jacklyn said, "but there are some catches. The first hearing won't go underway until the 21st of January. And I'm sure you and your friend know that once these hearings are done and gone the company can still build—unless enough people oppose the development of the territory."

Jess swallowed. His relief evaporated almost as quickly as it had rained down on him. "Yeah…I…I know that. Me and Leslie are going to try to get people on our side."

"That's great, Jess, and I wish you good luck in doing that. But just a friendly reminder: if people don't want to get involved then I wouldn't go shoving this issue in their faces. And be careful when you're trying to convince those who want this construction to happen, all right?"

Jess promised he would and after another minute he gave the phone back to his mother. In an instant he was over at Leslie's house (before May Belle and Joyce Ann could pounce on him) and he was telling her of the phone call almost before she could say hello.

"It's all set…we've just got to make a plan…and announce it to people…." Jess paced around in her kitchen as she stood at the sink, "and hope that everything is going to work out okay…."

"January 21st…" Leslie murmured to herself as Jess examined her, longing to know how she would take the news. "That's a little more than a month away."

"Do…do you think we can get people to help us?" Jess asked almost desperately.

Leslie smiled weakly. "I'm not sure. What we need to worry about are people who will go to the hearings and support the construction."

"Brenda," Jess concluded and she nodded sadly.

"Exactly." She was washing dishes at a breakneck pace. Jess watched her as she scrubbed each plate and each glass until it shone in the feeble sunlight that spilled out from the window. He was so absorbed in watching the glass catch the light, thinking about the hearings, that his heart didn't lurch in fright for a long time.

"Leslie—" Cleaning. She was cleaning. Her face was still and her eyes were blank… "Are…are you okay? Nothing happened at school today, right? I mean…you're…well…"

Leslie looked over at him. Jess looked at her in alarm.

"You know what I think, Jess?" she asked him gently.

"W-What?"

"I think you need to stop worrying about me."

Jess swallowed as despair clutched at his chest. "That's never going to happen."

"You've got bigger and more important things to worry about than me," Leslie said simply. She grabbed another towel from beside her and started wiping the dishes dry. "Concentrate on school for a little while…or something. We…we'll deal with Terabithia in a couple weeks, okay? Just…try to focus on something that really _matters_."

"You matter more to me than anything else in the world," Jess blurted out.

Leslie almost dropped the plate she was holding as she turned around to look at him. Jess felt his heart thumping abnormally again as he caught that extraordinary expression in her eyes, the one that made her face shine and host so many unreadable motions.

"Jess…" she breathed, eyes on him and only him. Jess couldn't have looked away even if he had wanted to, something he wouldn't have done for anything.

"I mean it," he murmured. His feet must have worked out a secret plan with his brain because suddenly he was closer to her, close enough to reach out and touch her cheek gently with one finger, which was what he did. "I…I can't, okay? I can't focus on anything else. Even…even Terabithia. I mean, it's still an issue…something we've got to figure out but…but it doesn't matter to me _half_ as much as you do."

Leslie reached up and touched his hand with hers, weaving her fingers around his as she gazed at him in something close to awe. Whether she couldn't speak, or else wanted him to go on, Jess didn't know. But he wasn't thinking anymore. He kept talking.

"You were the one who dragged me kicking and screaming to that world, Les," he whispered to her. "And without you there would _be _no Terabithia. Without you I don't think I would even be here…standing in front of you…s-saying this," he finished lamely but Leslie seemed to have received the point; rather, she looked as though she had been overwhelmed by it.

"Jess, it's…it's not just me. There wouldn't be a Terabithia without you," she told him quietly but Jess shook his head. Either Leslie moved or he did, but suddenly they were closer—much closer—then they had been before

"No, Leslie, that's not true. You raised it all." Jess felt himself smiling. "Les…you raised _me_."

Leslie returned his smile; the affection in her eyes was almost overpowering. "You're more than what you think you are," she said softly. If such a feat was possible, they were even closer now; their noses were almost touching. "Do you _honestly_ think that I could have done all that without a friend? Without someone who changed my entire life just by offering me endless support? Jess…I never had something like that before." She looked at him intently, as though wanting him to understand this through and through. "I am nothing…_nothing_, Jess…without you."

It was Jess's turn to be speechless. Now he was fully aware of what was pulsating through him—and Leslie—as they stood there gazing at each other by her kitchen sink.

"Why…why is this so…different?" Jess asked almost pleadingly and he would have thought it as possibly the dumbest thing to say had she not laughed and answered him with utter happiness in her tone.

"I've wanted to ask you the same thing for so long."

Hope burst through his emotions at her reply. "Then…" Jess whispered and he cupped her chin in his hands gently, "then we haven't been through enough changes as it is…so that we can't welcome one more?"

Leslie held her head up slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck, and she gazed at him with the familiar challenge in her eyes that Jess loved so much. "I guess, my King," she told him lovingly with a swift smile, "we'll find out."

The construction had been forgotten—nearly everything had been at that point. There was nothing that existed beyond the two of them; Jess left unsaid words to linger outside their thoughts and dance between their minds because he felt, as he always had, that Leslie understood.

And so he threw everything he had ever known and lived by previously to the winds as he leaned forward to close the distance between them, and do what he had been yearning to do for longer than what was now unnecessary to remember.

He kissed her.

* * *

**CUTENESS!! lol So I'm pretty sure we all saw that coming, right? ;)**

**All right, stick with me for these awfully long notes here—I'm almost done chatting. :)**

_**Please**_** review because I really want to know what you guys thought about this sudden…oh, I guess we can call it a "twist" :D I was actually not planning to have this happen until later but as I was writing it just really melted into the chapter this way…but that's just what I think. I really want to know what you guys thought!**

**The next chapter of **_**So Changed **_**should be up within the week; I'm having a little trouble with it plot-wise but I think I've figured it out so hopefully those of you who are so faithfully following that story will have something new to read after, what? Two months?**

**As always, thank you tons to my anonymous reviewers—you all are appreciated too!—and thanks again everybody, for reading this far. And a special thank-you goes out to MadTom, who very kindly read this chapter for me before I posted it and offered his thoughts. I appreciate your help a lot, MadTom!**

**I hate to say it, but we're drawing to an end here, guys! :D I'm pretty sure **_**Flight or Fight **_** will be wrapped up with another five chapters, give or take a few (no promises, though). As always I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible.**

**Thanks again!**


	12. Chapter 12

**ARGH! I'm sorry this chapter took so long to hit the Internet! I intended to finish it sooner but as school ends, summer comes, and unfortunately that means work and an obligation to help out with the family… so it got a little delayed. :P Not to mention an awesome trip to D.C. … uh, yeah… getting sidetracked here…**

**Hannah Montana is mentioned in a Christmas present in this chapter, and I don't own her or any of her products (though I wish I did, so I could put a stop to them permanently…)**

**Ah! Getting sidetracked again. Anyway… here's chapter 12 (finally).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Nothing in or out of any world could have prepared Jess for that moment.

For an instant, total shock at what he had done took over his mind and he felt numbed through completely, then that shock sparked into something impossibly wonderful that completely took his breath away. Her lips were so soft on his, softer than anything he had ever felt in his life, and by the time they broke apart, he felt as though he was drowning in happiness.

Leslie looked at him, and Jess knew with one swift gaze that her feelings were parallel with his. Neither of them spoke. The emotions both of them were dominated by were vast—bigger than anything either of them could have ever imagined—and the sensation felt so delicate Jess knew it could easily be crushed with words.

As time passed, however, the silence that was once profound started slipping into awkwardness. "Is that a change we can welcome?" asked Leslie timidly, and Jess was surprised at the longing that was entrenched in her voice. Smiling, he lowered his head slightly and kissed her forehead.

"I think we could manage," he told her, and the delight in her eyes made his heart soar.

OOO

Christmas was a cold affair, both figurative and literal in that sense. Jess had to bear the entire morning of Brenda's grumbles and his family's desperate attempts to keep smiles on their faces as she opened package after package of baby clothing.

"Green would look lovely on a girl or a boy," Nancy offered brightly as Brenda put aside even more onesies. "We… we don't know the sex yet so we thought we'd get some basic things for you… just to get you on your feet."

"You know, you were the one saying you wanted clothing all those months ago," Jack told his daughter when Brenda remained silent.

"I did," Brenda said darkly. "For _me_."

"Oh, we got clothing for _you_," said Ellie, handing her sister a lumpy package as Joyce Ann begged May Belle to play with the new dolls she had received. "Open up."

Brenda unwillingly unwrapped the parcel; the look on her face grew deadly.

"These are _maternity_ clothes," she said in despair.

"And you'll need them," Jack said gently yet firmly, "so you can start acting a little more grateful for what we're giving you besides your other presents."

Jess was certain that he wasn't the only one who preferred Christmas Eve to Christmas Day; the night before Brenda had been in a relatively better mood, and Jack and Nancy had invited the Burkes over for a few hours in which gifts were exchanged, food was eaten, and he and Leslie practiced remaining beyond arms length when they were in full view of their families. As their magical land was now public domain and talked about frequently, they both were desperate to keep one thing to themselves, even if it was the fact that they now couldn't stand to be outside each other's eyesight for more than a few minutes, or that they now hugged and kissed so much in the hallways at school that people who walked by would shout out, "Get a room," before the two had to part and go to class. It hadn't been easy, but Jess would rather practice self-control than listen to Brenda's whining by far.

"I _am_ grateful," he heard Brenda mutter before he let his mind wander off. He knew he was supposed to enjoy and stay with his family for the day, but he was seriously considering ditching them and going to find Leslie. He couldn't have stopped thinking of her even if he wanted to.

"Earth to Jess!" came a shout and Jess felt a tug on his arm. "Look, Jess! I _told_ you I'd get this!" May Belle was grinning ear to ear, waving a _Hannah Montana _C.D. in Jess's face. "Now we get to listen to it every day!"

Jess forced himself to smile. Yet another reason why he'd rather stay at Leslie's house.

"_Oooh_," gasped Ellie as she pulled out a new pair of jeans from red and green wrapping paper. She held them up with her eyes shinning. "These are so cute! Thanks, Mom!"

"You're welcome," Nancy said with a false smile on her face, but she was looking at Brenda, who was glowering at her maternity clothing. "Oh, honey, you'll be able to wear cute jeans again someday," she said as Brenda started blinking furiously.

"Yeah," snorted Ellie as she folded the pants happily and put them next to her, "if she hasn't moved up six pant sizes by then."

"_Ellie_," Jack and Nancy snapped at the same time and Brenda burst into tears. Sobbing, she got to her feet and launched herself toward the stairs, her wails echoing through the hallway. Ellie looked dumbstruck.

"I was just _kidding_," she said, her eyes wide. May Belle and Joyce Ann were looking up from their gifts in alarm.

"It still wasn't funny," Nancy sighed as she, too, got up and headed for the stairs. Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Ellie," he said slowly, "I should think you would know better than to say anything about weight to Brenda right now."

"I was joking," Ellie said faintly as May Belle and Joyce Ann pretended to be immersed in their Christmas presents.

"As you can see, Brenda didn't take it as a joke," Jack said, "so lay off the humor. All right?" Ellie nodded, glancing back down at her jeans and biting her lip.

That night, after twenty minute's worth of talking, lecturing, and promising, Brenda and Ellie (after Ellie had apologized and Brenda had shrugged forgiveness) were allowed to get into their car and drive downtown for a "get together" at one of their old college friend's house. Jess was stuck with May Belle and Joyce Ann and his parents. He had a feeling he couldn't run to the Burkes' and steal Leslie away (though he desperately wanted to), so he looked around his house for something to keep his mind off of her and Terabithia.

"Let's watch a movie," Jess suggested to his younger sisters after being forced to play with them for an hour, during which Hannah Montana sang him to near insanity. "I'll make popcorn and you guys can pick one out. Or maybe there's something on T.V."

His sisters quickly warmed to the idea, and Jack and Nancy even settled on the couch next to them as they turned on _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_. Brenda and Ellie walked through the door just as Rudolph and his friends arrived at the Island on Lost Toys.

"Thank you for being back on time," Nancy said warmly as the girls took off their jackets. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah," they answered, heading automatically for the stairs.

"Come watch this with us!" Joyce Ann squealed as the toys broke into song, wailing about how they all were misfits. "Please?"

"You two are really missing out," Jack chuckled as Brenda and Ellie hesitated.

Jess expected them to huff and continue up the stairs. But to his surprise Ellie shrugged and walked over to them, plopping herself down next to May Belle in the armchair. Brenda rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I won't find anything else to do," she muttered and she made her way to the couch and sat at Nancy's feet. Nancy ran her fingers through Brenda's dark hair, spreading it across her shoulders, and Jess saw a flicker of a smile pass through Brenda's lips before it vanished again into her surly scowl.

"Look," May Belle said in delight, "it's all of us sitting together!"

"No way," Ellie said sarcastically.

"But it hasn't happened in so long," May Belle said cheerfully. "You and me and Joycie and Jess and Brenda and Mom and Dad. All seven of us!"

The toys on the screen sang into silence for another few moments before Brenda said abruptly. "All eight."

Everyone looked at her. "What did you say?" Jack asked.

"Eight," Brenda repeated. She had one hand on her stomach and even though she was staring at the television screen Jess knew she wasn't seeing it. "All eight of us."

OOO

When school started up again, anything having to do with the lessons were the farthest things from Jess's mind. He drew on his notes during class, handed in half-done homework, and barely reacted to the D+ he received on his math quiz during the first week of the New Year. It was only when Leslie reprimanded him for letting his grades drop did he start shaping up.

"It doesn't matter that we've got a hearing in a couple of weeks," she said gently as they walked to gym class on that Friday. "There's no excuse to start slacking."

"I know there isn't," Jess said, ashamed. "It just feels like there are things going on right now that are a lot more important than schoolwork."

Leslie smiled weakly. "I understand, Jess," she answered softly, putting an arm around him as they walked; Jess was quick to return the gesture. "But this hearing will come and go, we'll win, and Terabithia will be ours again. Then focusing on schoolwork won't be as difficult."

Jess kissed her cheek. "You make it sound so simple."

Leslie laughed; the sound soared through Jess and washed away the stress that had gathered inside of him over the last week. "It _is_ simple, silly. Stop drawing in class, pay attention, and do your homework. That's all there is to it."

So Jess pulled himself together. After gym and lunch that day he was forced to sit at a desk and listen to teachers ramble on and on for four periods, but he thought of Leslie as his brain started to wander during explanations of algebra and government, and he made himself take notes. When he got to English his head was killing him – but it hurt even more when he saw Leslie.

She came into class after he did, and even before she took her usual seat next to him Jess felt his heart skip a beat and his stomach drop: her face was set and her body was tensed up; she clutched at her English book as she sat down and flinched as Jess reached out for her hand.

"Don't tell me it's Trent again," Jess asked very quietly, glancing over to where Leslie's obsessive admirer was sitting, dressed in his usual black and carving something into the desk with his pen. He felt anger rise inside of him simply by looking at the guy who wouldn't leave her alone.

"Then I won't," Leslie told him simply and Jess sighed. The change within her was so evident that he didn't think he could take her suffering anymore.

"I swear I'll go talk to him if you don't want to tell someone he's bothering you," he told her in an undertone as Mr. Bell yelled for order.

"Don't you dare," Leslie hissed at him. "_Please_ don't even go there, Jess."

Jess opened his mouth but their teacher barked at them to shut it. He seethed silently for fifty minutes, and jumped up when the bell rang, nearly dragging Leslie out of the room.

"Tell the office," directed Jess the instant they were outside the school and headed for the parking lot. "Tell them now."

Leslie shook her head. "I can't," she said.

"You can," Jess said shortly. "I'll walk with you. The office is just right there."

"Jess, _no_," Leslie said, tugging on his arm as he turned toward the administrative offices outside their parking lot. "It's fine."

"No, it's not fine," Jess replied angrily. "So don't pretend that it is. He's bothering you and if you're not taking any action to get rid of him, you better believe I will."

"I can deal with my own problems, Jess," Leslie snapped.

"Obviously you can't, otherwise Trent would have been dealt with _months_ ago."

"I'm just focused on Terabithia, that's all," Leslie started but Jess cut her off.

"No, no. You just said today that that's not an excuse."

"I'm not _using_ it as an excuse," Leslie said exasperatedly. "Can we please just drop this and—?"

"Look!" Jess burst out. "I _cannot_ just keep letting some idiot harass _my_ g—" He stopped abruptly, his face flushing even in the cold. "I mean, my—"

"Just say it. Girlfriend," Leslie said darkly and Jess frowned, a ripple of irritation going through him.

"You sound like you don't want to hear it," he said smoothly.

"No, I sound like I'm _not_ _used_ to hearing it," corrected Leslie swiftly. "That's what this is all about, isn't it? You're just jealous that other guys talk to m—"

"That is not the point!" Jess talked over her. He realized he was walking toward the truck with Leslie rather than the office, but he was so frustrated that he overlooked it. "I don't care if hundreds of guys talk to you as long as you're okay with it. But Trent has been irritating you for _months_!"

"All I'm saying," Leslie growled, "is that I don't want to make Trent angry. And telling on him like a little kid is just going to—"

"First of all, _telling on_ someone is completely different than getting adults to solve problems you can't deal with," Jess said irritably. "And you say you don't want to make Trent angry? Who are you and what have you done with Leslie?"

"Shut up, Jess!"

"'Cause the girl I met six years ago and the girl I'm with right now wouldn't have cared about making people angry as long as she thought she was doing what was right!" Jess was practically yelling now. "And the right thing to do is to get this asshole off your back, because as long as you just sit there and take it—"

"He touches me!" shrieked Leslie.

Silence.

Jess's mind went numb. The world around him drained and his head spun as blood rushed to his head.

"_What_?" he breathed and he saw tears prickling in Leslie's eyes.

"There, I _said_ it. Are you happy now?" Leslie was hysterical; her voice was rising dramatically and her breathing was choked. "I thought you'd be happy enough knowing—"

"He _what_?" gasped Jess. Shock was spreading through his body, making his heart pound and for his lungs to seem as though they had stopped working. He tried to say more but nothing came out of his mouth.

"I told you that he calls me beautiful," Leslie lamented, misery in her eyes and thick in her voice. "I just…" her voice grew quiet, "I never could say what he did to emphasize what he said."

Jess gazed at her. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. All he could do was recall—over the months—how Leslie had flinched every time someone would lay a hand on her shoulder…

"_We all learn things over time…sometimes it just takes a while for others to understand what's been thrown at them_…" Bill had said the day Leslie had been scrubbing the floor, splashing water everywhere—

"Jess?" whispered Leslie. "Please say something."

"I'm not the one who should be talking," Jess said almost soundlessly; astonishment was still thick in his chest. He realized that silent tears were pouring down her face.

"He… started… backing me into places during the first couple of weeks of school," Leslie said, flushing. "And… at first it was just my hair. And my neck. But he just… started touching whatever he wanted when I made him angry. When I told him I wasn't interested in… in going out. And I c-couldn't move anywhere else."

Jess could only look at her silently.

"I felt so helpless, Jess," Leslie whimpered. "I couldn't figure out what I did to provoke him… what I did t-to make him do it… and I still can't. It was all my fault and I couldn't tell you because… because I knew you'd be so angry with me… for letting it happen—"

"Listen to yourself," Jess broke in as Leslie started crying earnestly. He felt broken, helpless, anything but strong which was what Leslie needed him to be, but he kept talking. "Honey, you did nothing. _Trent's _the one at fault here, not you."

"I'm so stupid!" cried Leslie and the rest of her words were drowned in heart-shaking sobs that pierced through Jess like knives and shattered every cell in his body. He was scared to touch her, scared to lay one finger on her damaged skin, but as he tentatively held his arms out to her she rushed into them.

"You're not," Jess whispered as he hugged her tightly and she buried her face in his neck, crying. At that moment he was sincerely grateful that they were near his truck and there was nobody in the parking lot that could hear them. "You're not stupid. You should never think that."

"But I am," Leslie whispered, leaning back and raising her glittering eyes to his face. "I'm pathetic. I let him do it. I let him."

"That's not stupidity," Jess said gently, cupping her face in his hands and wiping away her damp tears the best he could. "He had—_has_—no right to do what he's been doing. You didn't _let _him do anything. You were taken advantage of."

"I d-didn't know what to do," Leslie said, looking desperate for him to understand. "I didn't know why he was… and I just figured… it was all—that _I_ did something—"

"You didn't," Jess said firmly. "You were just confused, Les, weren't you? You didn't understand exactly what was going on."

Leslie nodded, biting her lip. "I… I guess."

Jess kissed her forehead as tenderly as was possible; Leslie closed her eyes as his lips touched her skin and some of the tension entrenched in her body seemed to vanish.

"I just wish you would have told me," Jess said quietly and he wanted to kick himself when he saw tears fill Leslie's eyes again.

"I'm sorry—" she started but he shook his head.

"No, no, you shouldn't be," he said hastily. "I understand why you didn't. I guess I'm saying that… that I wish you didn't have to deal with this for so long."

They were quiet. Jess heard the laughter from students walking to their cars and the wind flowing through the tree branches nearby. Every now and then a car door slammed and an engine started, but in spite of all the noise neither of them moved for a long time.

Eventually Leslie leaned forward and laid her head against his shoulder; Jess put his arms around her again, bliss rising above the heavy weight in his mind. His heart beat faster as it always did when she was so near to him that he could feel her heartbeat against his chest.

"It will be all right," he said quietly, sensing the drained and weary energy that was leaving Leslie so lifeless in his arms. "Everything will be."

Leslie nodded against his shoulder and she hugged him more tightly, not saying a word.

"Nothing crushes us," she murmured suddenly. Then, louder, in a less weak tone, she added, "And nothing crushes me."

Jess smiled, his heart warming as he traced her cheekbone with his thumb. "I never doubted that for an instant, my queen."

OOO

In the end Leslie said that she wanted to go into the house by herself. Jess was prepared to stay with her as she talked to her parents, and yet he wasn't really surprised when she told him she needed to tell them on her own.

"I told you, didn't I?" she asked as they sat inside the truck, watching as PT came running down the Burke's driveway to them. "I… I think I can tell Judy and Bill. If I know them they won't _completely_ freak out on me."

"Of course they won't," Jess said soothingly as PT, barking, jumped up and down in front the truck. Jess smiled and opened the door; PT jumped up and came bounding in, wiggling and wagging happily. "Besides, you'll have this guy to keep you company."

Leslie smiled slightly and held out her arms; PT rushed into them and licked her face. She laughed. "Good boy," she told the terrier and PT smiled, panting.

"I guess I better go," she said quietly, opening her door to let PT out and unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Call me if you need me, okay?" Jess asked and she nodded.

"I will," she told him with a small smile and she shut the door. Jess was about to start the engine again when he saw her walking around the front of the car to his window. He rolled it down as she approached him.

"And Jess?" she asked quietly, putting her hands on the ledge.

"Yeah?" he started and then she was kissing him, brushing her lips with his and making Jess's breath catch in his throat. He reached up with one hand and cupped her chin as he always did, and after a moment or two she pulled back to lay frenzied kisses on his cheeks. Jess laughed out loud.

"Thank you," she murmured, pressing her lips against his again and leaning backwards as though it physically hurt her to pull away from him. "So much, Jess."

Jess smiled. "Anything for you, Leslie," he told her and she leaned forward again for one more hurried kiss before scooping up PT and heading toward her front door. Jess watched her leave and gazed after her for a few moments when she walked in, waving PT's paw at him then shutting the door lightly, before turning around and driving over across the dirt road to his house. He felt momentarily guilty for feeling so happy, when Leslie was facing so much on her own. But he could never feel anything but bliss whenever she kissed him.

Unfortunately there was something on the other side of the kitchen door that was ready to squash the contentment from him. As Jess hurried inside his house and closed the screen door and opened his mouth to tell his family he was home, he heard Brenda's voice echoing through from the living room. He froze when he heard her words.

"…think he is, because if he's trying to jump around like a four year old and save the tiniest bit of land when we could have a brand new clothing store—"

"Brenda, that land is a special place to them… of course they're going to try and save it. Mr. Jacklyn is simply offering support and he's making sure the law is being obeyed. Before Jess and Leslie got involved, that company was building illegally."

"But Mom! Think about having a Miranda's Outfitting! so close to us! I _love _that store! And it's just a bunch of dumb land, anyway."

"A bunch of dumb land to you is a very important forest to your brother and his friend." Nancy sounded tired. "Any they'll be very disappointed if you were to show up for that hearing and speak against them."

"Well, I think it's stupid," Ellie's voice chipped in, her voice louder as Jess started walking toward the living room silently, fury already boiling in his chest. "They're not going to be able to do anything. Why bother anyway?"

"They always waste their time with everything," snorted Brenda and as Jess walked into the living room he saw her on the armchair filing her nails. His mother and Ellie were sitting on the couch. "We should just—"

"You should just stop talking, that's what you should do," Jess shot out and all heads turned to him. Brenda's eyes grew dark.

"Hey, Jess," Nancy said quickly. "Have a good day?"

"Yeah, until I opened the door to the sound of complaining," Jess said coolly, surprising even himself. Ellie frowned. Brenda narrowed her eyes.

"Do you have a problem with us voicing our opinions?" she said snippily before Nancy could intervene.

"Yeah," Jess said, putting his jacket on the coat hanger in the room casually. "I do."

"Well, deal with it, because our _opinions_ are going to heard at the hearing you and your girlfriend put together," Brenda told him, clipping her words as well as her nails as she glared at him. "And apparently your pal Mr. Jackles or whatever likes hearing opinions."

"You can't—" Jess started in panic but Nancy held up her hand.

"_Please_, you two. Please no fighting, all right? Brenda, maybe if you and Ellie just took some time and listened to Jess's side of the—"

"I don't need to," huffed Brenda, throwing her nail filer on the ground and getting out of the armchair. She strode over to the coat hanger where Jess was, shoving him back from the wall roughly before he could react.

"What was _that_ for?" he asked angrily, rubbing his arm.

"You were in my way," Brenda growled before putting on her coat and stomping into the kitchen to grab her car keys. "I'm going to the gas station," she called over her shoulder as she opened the screen door.

"Honey, she's just being difficult because of mood swings—" Nancy started softly but Jess shook his head, feeling as though someone was drilling into his skull.

"That's not an excuse," he said furiously and he charged after Brenda, ignoring his name being called quietly by his mother, catching the door just before it slammed.

"Brenda, will you just stop it?" Jess called as he practically ran to catch up with his sister. She turned and glared at him, her jaw clenched. "Listen. You don't understand what the forest is to us! And don't you have enough clothes already? Why do you need more?"

"And don't _you_ have enough little playgrounds to go run around in already?" Brenda shot back at him, her breath coming out like steam in the cold. "Why do you need more forests for playpens, huh? Why don't you and your girlfriend go to Chuckie Cheese or something?"

"That land is important to us—"

"'_That land is important to us_…'" mimicked Brenda, scrunching her face up and imitating him. "Grow up, sweetie. We all lose things that are important to us when we get older. You're just lucky Leslie still wastes her time with you."

"Why are you being such a bitch?" shouted Jess, his temper rising quickly as Brenda kept on walking toward her car. "Why can't you do anything for someone else for _once_ in your miserable life? Would it freaking _kill_ you to help me out?"

"Why the hell would I want to help _you_?" Brenda spat at him as she whipped around and faced him with fire in her eyes—or, to Jess's shock, they might have been tears. "When you're Daddy's favorite and you got a truck from him for doing nothing and you never do anything wrong and everyone just loves you so damn much why should you need any help from _me_? Why should I even freaking _bother_ to help you?"

"_Because you're my older sister_!" yelled Jess in her face, anger now flowing through him. "Because you should _care_! You should care about me and Mom and Dad and everyone who has ever tried to help you get through _your_ damn mistake! Not about clothes that will just eventually go out of style!"

"Who said I didn't care?" Brenda snapped even as she began to cry. "Why do you just jump to conclusions like the dimwit you are?"

"No one has to say anything! You act as though you're the one and only person who ever has needs and it's disgusting," snarled Jess. "You're pregnant and that was your choice but you sit here blaming everybody else and—and I wish you'd start being _mature_, because you certainly aren't getting near _that_ any time soon!"

Brenda's mouth opened but no words came out, instead tears just kept on running down her face; Jess seized his opportunity to continue yelling.

"We're all tired of your pointless complaining about things that don't matter… and your pathetic rants about how horrid your life is! You sit there and you…you're just so freaking ungrateful for everything anyone has ever done for you! You're going to be a parent, for God's sake! You should try _acting like one_."

He whipped around and launched himself back toward the house before she could shout back at him, but as he did, he caught his sister's stunned look that told him she had no words to say.

* * *

**So I threw up a little as I was writing the little bits and pieces of this chapter that involve Jess and Leslie going at it only like two love struck teenagers could… yeah, I am NOT one for romance. But it was for Jess and Leslie, so I thought the time was right to make some exceptions. :D**

**Writing Leslie's confession involving Trent at the end of this chapter was a little difficult for me to write because (as I'm sure some of you have guessed already) the exact same experiences have happened to me. I apologize if that section seemed choppy or if it felt like it didn't blend in with the story very well – but it was my own heart speaking as well as Leslie's (not to mention the whole plot had been planned since chapter one), and I really had to have it in this chapter. **

**No promises as to when the next chapter will be here (seeing that school starts in a week) and as far as the next few chapters go, they will be wrapping up this story and finishing it off completely. So start getting yourselves prepared for "There is only one chapter left," that I'll eventually have to write in the author notes soon.  
**

**Thanks again for your patience and for your lovely reviews that always follow an update! You guys are absolutely incredible people and I feel so honored that you have stayed with this story for so long. There honestly would be no story here on fanfiction called _Flight or Fight _without you guys and your endless support, so if you have enjoyed _Flight or Fight_ for this long, thank yourself if you have ever reviewed for me!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**It's been too long, my dear readers! I'm sorry about the delay… I'd tell you precisely why this chapter took so long to hit the Internet but I have a feeling you'd rather read instead, so I'll stop typing now.**

**Okay, not really. One last thing: Enjoy!

* * *

**Jack said later that he hadn't seen it coming; however, 'it' was a term that could have been applied to many events. From Jess storming back into the house with Brenda following quietly afterwards and shutting herself in her room, to Judy knocking on the kitchen screen door and pulling Nancy out with her for an hour so they could talk, the Aarons household was in considerable disorder from any point of view.

"It's not _fair_," Ellie was whining as Jack stood at the door, trying to listen to what Judy was saying on the other side of it. "She locked me out of _our_ room. I, like, can't get in there to do anything!"

"Why don't you go play with your younger sisters?" Jack said distractedly. "May Belle and Joyce Ann are in their room."

"But—"

"And why don't you give Brenda some time to herself?" snapped Jack and Jess watched the affair miserably from the kitchen table, reveling in the astonished look on Ellie's face. "I'm sure she's got a lot to think about as of now. And be quiet, I think they're talking about Leslie out there."

Ellie let out an angry "Agh!" and stomped away, giving Jess a sullen look that he gladly returned.

Jack finally opened the door. "Everything okay?" he asked cheerfully and he was met by soft words Jess didn't need to hear. Jack, looking troubled, walked outside and pulled the door shut behind him.

"I bet she fell in that creek again," Ellie muttered, pulling out her cell phone from her back pocket and flipping it open in the living room. "Stupid girl. Good thing you weren't there to save her this time, Jess."

Jess didn't give rational actions the privilege of thought as he overturned the chair he was sitting on in haste to reach his elder sister. Ellie shrieked as he ripped the phone out of her hands and smashed it onto the tile with all the strength he could muster, heart beating with fresh rage he knew had nothing to do with a spiteful comment.

"What the _hell_!" screamed Ellie but Jess ignored her, tearing out of the room as fast as humanly possible and through the front door rather than the back. He dashed out into the freezing air that tore at his bare arms as he ran toward the one place in which he had ever felt a sense of belonging.

All it took was mere seconds and Jess was ten years old again, practicing in the fields for the events at recess, battling his opponents on the tracks, racing Leslie to the kingdom that would always be there, their kingdom, _their_ kingdom…

Jess was running so fast he could hardly see what was flying behind him. His breath escaped in gasps, his thoughts appeared as chunks of time while the stars far above him mocked him with their vigor. It was so dark that they were the only sense of light Jess would have needed had he not known the way to his sanctuary automatically.

The creek was there, ahead of him, so close he could hear the water trickling forward at the pace it had always moved by. How he crossed the water he did not know, but almost before he could think he was rushing through the dark forest, jeans dripping with icy water, running until his legs gave way and he stumbled and collapsed on Terabithia's grounds, crying, cursing Trent and Brenda and Ellie and himself as he lay curled on his kingdom's bare floor.

He forgot time existed as he eventually sat up and wiped at his cold, wet cheeks. He was miserable and furious with himself for being miserable when he had no right to be, not when Leslie had been sinking into the darkness for so long….

"Jess?"

He jumped at the sound of his name, suddenly aware of how dark it was. He cried out when two strong arms grabbed at him as he tried to bolt, heart leaping with alarm.

"Jess, relax, it's just me, boy…." Jack released him and Jess turned around in confusion, completely shaken.

"Dad?" he asked.

"Son…." Jack's tone was completely helpless. "You… you know about Leslie?"

Jess nodded and though he wasn't completely sure of how Jack saw his reaction in the dark, he was sure that his father saw the tears falling fast from his eyes as he caught Jess again in a tight, protective hug. This time, however, Jess was not ashamed of them.

OOO

He awoke the next day after a rather fitful sleep. When he saw daylight streaming into his room from under the blinds he groaned and wished for it to go away. After a while, however, he began to wonder why he hadn't been awaked by his alarm clock, and he glanced over to check the time. Within seconds he was bolting out of bed in alarm.

Nancy was sitting with Ellie at the table when Jess arrived, panting, at the kitchen mere minutes later. They both looked up as Jess ran in.

"Easy, Jess, there's no need to hurry," Nancy said as Jess raced around the room.

"Mom, my alarm didn't go off…. School's already started—"

"Relax, you're not going to school today, you're staying home," Ellie said, looking as though she wished she were saying otherwise. Her damaged phone was lying on the counter and Jess felt a twinge of guilt as he saw it.

"What? Why—?"

"Judy and Bill and your father and I had a talk late last night," Nancy said evenly, "and we're keeping you and Leslie out of that school until further notice. So I turned your alarm off. I thought you'd like to sleep in."

Jess stared at her.

"Bill's up at the school now, talking to the administration. Apparently they're not too keen on taking action when they should be expelling certain people from the school immediately."

"Where's Leslie?" asked Jess automatically.

"With Judy, in their house."

"Is she—?"

"She's fine. Bill and Judy are going to take her to some therapy meetings for the next few months or so, to help her."

"It's that bad?" Ellie muttered to herself. Nancy bit her lip.

"Molestation is a horrifying experience, honey." She sounded sad. "Leslie is going to need lots of time to recover."

Jess stood for a moment, then without registering what he was doing, he pulled out a chair and sat down wearily. Nancy eyed him and twisted her coffee cup with her hands.

"So your father said you knew about this, Jess."

"I found out only an hour or so before Bill and Judy did."

Nancy was quiet and though Ellie opened her mouth to speak, Nancy gave her a silent but reprehending look that made her words shrivel on her lips. Jess assumed more explanation was necessary; for some reason he wanted to give it.

"Yeah, she'd been acting weird for a while… she only said that T—that he came up and bothered her but that he just, like, told her stuff… and she kept on begging me not to go to anyone…." Jess trailed off. "I didn't imagine it was anything like this."

Nancy nodded sympathetically. "You know it must have been bad if she'd been hiding it from you, Jess."

"I would have done something. I wanted to," Jess said quietly, and his mother reached across the table for his hand.

"Sometimes the best thing we can do is nothing. Nothing except listen. And it seems that you've done that and more for her already."

It was quiet. The brand new pickup was gone, so Jess assumed that Jack was at work. May Belle and Joyce Ann had to be at school already and judging by the silent second floor Brenda was still asleep. The clock on the wall ticked loudly.

Suddenly Ellie blurted out, "I'm sorry for what I said last night. About her falling in the creek. I didn't mean it."

Jess gazed at her incredulously.

"What?" she snapped, getting up out of her chair. "I'm _sorry_. God. You don't have to stare at me." She stalked out of the room, leaving behind her destroyed phone and causing Jess to sigh and put a hand to his temple in utter confusion. Nancy chuckled lightly.

"I think she's improving," she said, raising her cup of coffee to her lips. Jess found himself smiling halfheartedly.

"Maybe she can give Brenda lessons," he offered into the silence as Nancy got up to put the breakfast leftovers on a plate, which she put in the microwave and eventually placed on the table in front of Jess. In her tired eyes he saw a contentment that he hadn't seen in weeks.

"Brenda is teaching herself many lessons," she said simply. She sat back down in her chair as Jess began to eat, her eyes fixed on what she could see of the outdoors, where the clouds overhead were slowly losing their battle with the imposing sunlight. She didn't speak, only played with a piece of her auburn hair that rested on her shoulder as she looked at the world beyond the screen door.

Soon Jess finished and he rose to take his plate to the sink, and as he did, he heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs. Nancy shook herself slightly and turned her attention to the noise.

"Oh, good morning, Brenda," she said pleasantly.

Jess turned around. His sister was walking silently into the kitchen. "Morning," she answered, and Jess was a little surprised at her empty voice. "I was wondering… um, did Judy give you any updates this morning? Is that kid okay?"

"Leslie's all right," Nancy said, and her face was warm as she smiled at Brenda. Jess wasn't sure if he was more shocked about his entire family knowing about Leslie's situation or Brenda actually asking if she was fine. "I was just telling Jess that she's staying home from school until further notice, and Jess is going to stay away from there, too."

At the mention of Jess's name, Brenda whipped around until she saw her brother, standing by the sink. "Oh," she answered Nancy, looking right at him. "I guess that's good."

Jess took a glass and filled it water, acting as though he had not heard her. Brenda sat down next to Nancy, glancing over at him with uncharacteristically worried eyes.

"So are you feeling all right this morning?" Nancy asked and Jess saw Brenda shrug, turning her attention to her mother.

"I suppose," she muttered. "I'm not throwing up."

"That's great, honey. The first three or four months are always the hardest," said Nancy, now weaving her fingers through Brenda's dark hair rather than her own. "I thought today we could go downtown for a bit. We could look at cribs and strollers if you'd like, or we could go to lunch."

"Just us?" Brenda asked and Jess was even more confused at the longing in her voice.

"Just the two of us. Or three, if you're counting my grandchild."

Brenda's lips twitched in a tiny smile, but it faded almost instantly as Jess put his glass down and headed for the stairs, walking past the table without looking at his sister.

"Jess?" she called after him so quietly he almost didn't hear her, and he pretended as though he hadn't. She didn't say his name again, so he continued on to his room, so he could sit and wonder what on earth had happened to his elder sisters.

OOO

Jess forced himself to stay away from the Burke home for the remainder of the day. As the morning melted into the afternoon, however, and the clouds overtook the sun again, he couldn't stand being inside anymore. Eventually, after Nancy and Brenda had gone downtown for several hours and had returned home, he took his shoes and coat from his room and slipped outside as discreetly as he could.

Minutes later he was walking slowly down the dirt road toward the familiar fields, loving the feel of the ground beneath his shoes and even appreciating the icy air that was stinging his lungs. He reached the creek before long and carefully crossed the makeshift bridge into Terabithia, pausing to look around, feeling as though he had never seen the forest before. Despite the lack of sunlight the trees were startlingly beautiful. They had spread themselves to welcome the sky regardless of whatever elements of nature it contained, and they had stayed that way for as long as Jess could remember.

Jess kept walking until he reached the mass of wood and lumber that had been the castle of Terabithia. He looked at it and for some odd reason he didn't feel any twinge of sadness or helplessness; his mind only touched upon memories that had been forgotten.

_Sitting together and plotting a certain letter as revenge… Ranting about forgetful parents and being outcasts… Laughing and fending off enemies of old… Ten-year-old Leslie raising her arms to the sky and shouting "I can't hear you!"…_

Jess closed his eyes, taking it in. Somehow he felt so old in those brief, fleeting seconds, as though time had gone screeching by ages ago and he was just hearing it now….

He opened his eyes and without explanation he turned around, as though a hidden force had compelled him to do so. And she was there, watching him, head held high and eyes quietly shining as only hers could, and she walked toward him softly when their eyes met and locked.

No words were exchanged as they stood next to one another in their forest, their kingdom, their world. Jess slowly turned to face her, and he raised his hand and offered it, palm facing the sky, to his queen. Without hesitation or any trace of caution, Leslie took it. He brought her near him, brought her so close that her warm breath mixed with his, their fingers intertwining and their foreheads touching softly. They stayed that way for a long time.

Then, as the clouds overhead began to weaken, Leslie raised her chin slightly and gently pressed her lips against his. This time there was no abrupt rush of happiness or excitement between them; in fact, the action felt so simple and natural that it only intensified what they had been feeling before. Time wandered on as they kissed and allowed their thoughts to evaporate into a strength that could not have been explained in writing, but they did not know it.

Jess gradually came to understand something as they finally walked, hand in hand, away from the woods and down the dirt road back to their homes: They didn't need a wooden bridge. They didn't need a tree house or a castle or branches that could be used as swords against imaginary enemies. Yes, the destruction of their gateway and their fortress had shaken them, forced them into action. The damages done to their land had opened their eyes and made them see what they had been trying to avoid.

Bulldozers could destroy the forest. It would undoubtedly devastate the two of them if they saw construction continue with little thought to the earth or its creator. But Terabithia, the magical kingdom and all of its wonders, everything they both had ever created, _that_ was something that could not be ripped up with the trees and the ground and the creek.

_Maybe we saved Terabithia already_, Jess concluded as he and Leslie walked on, feeling the warmth of both newly found understanding and victory rays the sun was sending down upon them. _Maybe we're carrying it with us right now_.

* * *

**I could end the story right there, leave you guys forever wondering whether or not the land is destroyed… but I'm not that cruel. Cruel enough to go nearly five months without an update… but…**

**We're reaching the end here! I'm guessing I will be updating less than four chapters for **_**Flight or Fight**_**, but you never know. **

**Thank you for reading and reviewing as always. The highlight of my day is whenever I get reviews – that way I know whether or not this story is worth writing! I promise I will be updating a lot sooner this time. :D  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, so I broke my promise – it was more than five months since my last update. I'm sorry! Even I had to go back and re-read what I had written before—I'm sorry that you guys will probably have to do the same. And I hope you guys will understand.**

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

There was no doubt in Jess's mind that his family had all heard the news when two police cars had turned into the Burke's household the next afternoon, and nobody had said a word. Upon seeing the cars and having a horrific sense of déjà vu wash over him as he remembered the circumstances of the last time the police had arrived at Leslie's house, Jess started to grab his coat in a panic. His mother took it from him gently.

"She'll come over in the evening," she said. "I know she will. Better wait for her until then."

As the family sat down to eat later on, they saw the cars pulling away from the kitchen window. Nancy and Jack glanced at each other. Brenda fixed her eyes on her plate. Joyce Ann, the queen of endless chatter, was silent as the grave.

"So, erm . . . " Ellie coughed slightly. "When's that hearing again, Jess? The one for your forest or whatever?"

Jess was taking a bite of potatoes and he was glad to have something to do so he wouldn't have to answer her at first. When he finally swallowed, his family was looking at him curiously. "The twenty-first," he said clearly, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "In about a week and a half."

Ellie nodded and focused back on her plate. Brenda moved her peas around with her fork.

"Why the particular interest, Ellie?" Nancy asked gently and Jess's heart leapt. Ellie just shrugged.

"Just wondering," she said. "Can't I ask a simple question?"

"No . . . it's just . . . of course you can," Nancy said hurriedly.

May Belle looked up at Jess.

"Can I help?" she asked, her brown eyes sad and pleading. Jess half-smiled.

"Sure . . . I mean, we've got most of our facts straight and we've just got to start getting people on our side . . . but I'm sure me and L—" He paused, heart pounding. He couldn't say her name. Not now, not here. "Yeah, I'm sure that we could find something you could help us with," he fumbled for words. "We'd appreciate it."

Jack glanced at him sharply, but when Jess turned to him he quickly looked away.

"Well," Nancy said a little too brightly. "Brenda, honey, are you getting enough to eat?"

"Yes," was the dull reply.

"Drink all of that orange juice I gave you, okay, honey? It has lots of Vitamin C."

"I will." Brenda put a hand to her stomach and Jess realized, for the first time, that she really was starting to show. Her shirts that seemingly fit her well before were now stretched and tight, and she was beginning to make good use of the maternity clothes that had been given to her.

It was silent again. Nancy opened her mouth once to speak, then she shut it again with a sigh, staring down at her plate. Jess looked out the window, toward the Burke household, without really comprehending the fact that he was doing so. Seconds later he felt a little hand on top of his own. Jumping slightly, he turned to see Joyce Ann, who was sitting next to him, looking at him with big eyes.

"She the bravest girl in the world," the girl said earnestly. "And she's even braver because of you."

Jess gazed at her.

"She'll come and see us later," Joycie went on, her voice confident. "She always does."

Jess felt a lump rising in his throat. His family looked at him as he forced a smile to his lips and squeezed his sister's hand gratefully. And no more words were spoken as the seven of them sat and ate though they were not hungry, silent because there was nothing more to say.

OOO

Finally, finally Leslie let herself in through the kitchen door, just as the tip of the sun was meeting the horizon. May Belle and Joyce Ann—the latter of whom had only been told that a bad man had been horribly mean to Leslie—ran across the floor and threw their arms around her. Jess saw Leslie smile weakly. She didn't flinch so badly this time.

"Is he being punished?" May Belle demanded.

"Yeah, is that bad man being punished, Leslie?" Joyce Ann asked.

Ellie and Brenda both were staring at her, expressionless. Brenda's lips were tight.

"Yes," Leslie said simply. "He's being punished."

When Jack had shooed the rest of the girls away she sat down at the kitchen table with Jess close to her side. Nancy watched her carefully.

"Is there going to be a trial?" she asked, tentative, and Leslie nodded.

"On Valentine's Day," she said, and she chuckled a little. "Can you imagine?"

Jess took her hand under the table; she shot him a quick, grateful look before lacing her fingers through his.

"And this guy's behind bars or something as of now, correct?" Jack asked, frowning.

"I think so," Leslie said, and Jess admired the quiet strength in her voice. "The officer told my dad today that they went to his house this morning and took him to juvenile, whatever sort of jail that is. It was interesting – his dad got taken, too. When they came to arrest Tr—him—the police found a bunch of illegal drugs spilling out from under the couch cushions."

There was an awkward silence, during which Leslie kept her eyes on the table and the table only, then Nancy quietly broke it. "I'm so sorry, honey."

Leslie shrugged.

"Can we do anything?" Nancy asked, brow furrowed.

"You're doing enough," said Leslie. Her trembling voice made cracks in Jess's heart. "Just by listening."

Jess swallowed, trying to keep the lump in his throat from surfacing. He squeezed her hand more tightly. Jack cleared his throat.

"Listen, Leslie," he said, much more clearly than any of the conversation before, "If you ever need to talk . . . or, that is . . . anything at all . . . just come over if you need anything. We're always here to listen."

Leslie did nothing, her face perfectly blank, but her eyes filled with tears. Nancy seamlessly went over to her and wrapped her arms around her. Leslie didn't flinch, but she closed her eyes and rested her head on Mrs. Aarons's arms in silence. Jess was reminded of the time Leslie had done the same thing for her, all those months ago.

"Strongest of them all," whispered Nancy and Leslie's face crumbled as tears started running down her cheeks. Jack bit his lip and Jess, his throat swelling, stood up without thinking. His mother glanced up at him and stepped back slowly.

"Les," Jess murmured. At his voice she raised her eyes to his, blinking and wiping her cheeks with her fingers.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and Nancy and Jack both shook their heads in bewilderment.

"No, honey, you shouldn't be . . ."

"You have nothing to be . . ."

"I think I'm going to walk her home," Jess said with some difficulty, and his parents looked at him, then at each other.

"All right," Jack said quietly, and Leslie stood, shaking strands of her hair from her wet cheeks.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she murmured, forcing a smile to her face and Nancy rested a hand, briefly, on her cheek before Jess put his arm around her and they walked outside. Jack carefully shut the door behind them.

Silently they walked over the dirt road and into the Burke's yard. PT, laying on the porch, started as they came into view and bolted upright, tail wagging and beginning to bark. Leslie chuckled and the sound warmed Jess through.

"I wish I didn't have to leave you," he said unexpectedly and Leslie turned to him with a familiar spark in her eyes.

"Me, too," she said conversationally. "You could stay tonight but . . ." She paused briefly, " . . . but our parents would freak."

Jess nodded in agreement, and there was a stillness between them that was heavier than what was normal when they were together. Leslie looked at PT wordlessly and Jess let his arm drop from where it lay around her shoulders. The wind, cold and gentle, floated through their hair and through the trees that stood around them but seemed to avoid Jess's cheeks that seemed somewhat warmer.

"I'll stop by tomorrow," he said, to fill the silence. "Maybe go over our statements for Terabithia's trial?"

"Okay," answered Leslie but she made no move to go inside the house. Jess looked at her in concern until she finally turned to him again.

"I'm sorry," she murmured again and before Jess could speak she went on hurriedly, "It's just . . . I'm not trying to . . . to worry you or anything. I want you to think I'm okay but . . . but I just seem to want you near me. All the time. Jess, I can't—" She put a hand through her hair and took a deep breath. "I just want you _there_," she went on, speaking a little more calmly. "I don't want to leave you . . . not now, or . . . tomorrow night or . . . or . . ."

"Les," Jess whispered, taking her hands in his, "the night won't last forever."

"It feels like it will," Leslie said, laughing shakily.

"I'll see you first thing in the morning," Jess spoke softly. "I'll come before breakfast."

"When I wake up?"

"I'll be the first thing you see."

Leslie smiled and her eyes closed. "Good."

"You're safe with or without me, Leslie." Jess let go of her briefly and took her in—the fire of her hair in the remaining sunlight, the nobility of her cheekbones, high and proud on her face, her green eyes that caught every emotion he had ever felt—and quietly added, "I love you."

Leslie's eyes filled again, and it wasn't tears that set them aglow. She hugged him tightly, and Jess laid his head briefly on her shoulder. "Oh, Jess," she whispered, "I love you, too."

Jess pressed his lips to her hair, wrapping his arms around her so that her head rested at his neck, where he knew she felt safest. Sure enough, he sensed whatever tension she was holding within her tired body vanish completely. "My queen," he murmured into her ear and Leslie reached up to kiss his cheek in gratitude.

PT barked. Both of them—still embraced—turned their heads to the terrier that was looking up at them defiantly. He barked again and Leslie chuckled.

"Dumb dog," she murmured.

"Leslie?" came a voice from inside. "Is that you, sweetheart?"

Jess let go of her reluctantly and Leslie turned to the door. "Yeah, I'm coming in!" she answered.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Jess said quietly and Leslie rushed into his arms again.

"Okay," she said, touching her lips with his briefly, "tomorrow. Can we go to Terabithia?"

"Of course we can."

She kissed him again, more softly this time, and Jess felt her smile on his lips. "Okay," she said again. "I'm leaving now."

"You do that."

Another kiss. "I'm serious."

"I'm sure you are."

"Leslie, honey, where are you? It's getting dark!"

"I'm coming! I'm just talking to Jess!" called Leslie again and Jess snorted. She brushed her lips against his again. "Shut up," she whispered, laughing quietly.

"Yes, your highness."

Leslie hugged him. "Okay. For real now."

"For real."

"Good night."

"Good night, Les."

She kissed him one last time before scooping up a yelping PT. She had barely walked away from him when the front door opened and Bill poked his head out, squinting.

"There you are! Leslie, what—oh, hey, Jess!"

"Hello," Jess said calmly as Leslie walked up the steps to her father. "Don't worry, sir, she's safe and sound."

"With you? She sure is," Bill responded and Jess, chest swelling, had to bit his lip to keep a grin off his face. Leslie looked at him silently, eyes shining, then turned to Bill with a smile on her face. Jess noticed that Bill did not put his arm around her or tap her shoulder like he would have normally done.

"Judy's got some grilled cheese in the kitchen if you're hungry, sweetheart," Bill said quietly.

"Okay," Leslie said brightly and she glanced at Jess once more—looking at him again with her overwhelming eyes—before turning and disappearing through the doorway. Bill, looking from Jess to Leslie and to Jess again, did not shut the door behind her. He and Jess stood there for a brief moment. Jess felt his heartbeat pick up slightly.

"It's pretty nice out for a January night, isn't it?" Bill mentioned and Jess nodded.

"Yeah, it is," he answered.

There was another somewhat awkward pause. Inside the house, PT barked a couple of times. Jess cleared his throat.

"Well," he said, smiling somewhat uneasily, "good night, Bill."

Bill nodded to him, eyeing him carefully. "Good night, Jess. You tell your folks hi for us, alright?"

"Yes, sir," Jess replied. Bill smiled and pulled the door shut as Jess turned to walk back to his house. The sun was almost gone now, and it was taking the brightness with it on its decent down the horizon, draining the light out of everything he could see. As he crossed the dirt road, Jess looked down to where the bulldozer had once stood. He paused, remembering the first time he had seen it, that night after Leslie had gone away last summer . . . .

_It's different now_ he thought to himself, and an odd, bittersweet feeling crept into mind. He shook his head and continued walking, lost in thought and not viewing his house clearly until he had almost reached the kitchen door. He mentally shook himself and approached the porch that was empty save for a figure resting on the steps.

Jess stopped dead in his tracks.

Brenda looked up at him, something close to a smile dancing across her expression, and suddenly with a start Jess realized that she—from her spot on the porch—could easily see Leslie's front door from across the dirt road, where Jess had dropped her off ten minutes before. His eyes met his sister's and his heart leapt into his throat when he saw the light of discovery deep within them.

He waited, for a moment, for her to burst into song; he waited for her to alert the entire house, the neighborhood, the world for that matter, and tell everyone that he and Leslie had been kissing. He waited for her to run back into the house and scream that Leslie really was his girlfriend, that she, Brenda, was right and everyone else had been wrong; he waited for her to taunt and tease and laugh and make fun of him until the sun rose once more.

Nothing came.

Brenda simply stared up at him, one hand propping herself up on the porch and one resting protectively over her stomach as though to block the January chill. Jess gazed at her in astonishment, walking forward slowly until he was standing in front of her. She made not a single movement.

He looked at her for what felt like ages, remaining in one place as the emptiness around them rose and rose so that it was all he could hear until, still waiting, he silently walked past her and through the back door. And when he turned to shut it, he hesitated and looked out again to see his sister, still motionless, still gazing up at the now-starlit sky, still wordless as though she had been the one waiting for him instead.

OOO

Utter bewilderment had set in by the next morning.

Jess didn't say a word about it to Leslie when he walked over to her house—as promised—early the next morning, nor did he ask Brenda about anything when he saw her when he came back right before lunchtime. His head was spinning. He hardly heard Ellie complaining that he was too quiet or his mother asking if he felt all right. All he could hear was the vast silence Brenda had emitted.

And now, he had another emotion to deal with.

After Jess had walked back from Leslie's the next morning, he walked up to his room for his sketchbook and found his backpack directly next to it. Instead of going through his sketches, as he had planned, he went through his backpack to find schoolwork, his history textbook, and notebooks thrown inside of it.

Without really registering what he was doing, feeling nothing except a horrible burst of energy that made his heart pound, he reached into his pocket for his keys and headed right to his truck.

School. School meant Coach, and Rachel and her idiot friends, and the madness of students stampeding through the hallways and the homework that drove him to insanity and English class where Trent would not stop staring—

Trent.

Jess clenched his fist around his keys as he walked.

He hadn't been aware of his anger at first. He didn't know what that tightness in his chest was, exactly, whenever he saw Judy or Bill unthinkingly reach for Leslie and she jumped; he didn't know what the rush of blood through his veins meant whenever he thought of the days when Leslie would stare silently into the unknown for an immeasurable period of time. And every time he thought of Trent's dark eyes, every time he let his mind imagine—a mental action he tried desperately to control—what exactly Trent had done to his queen in the chaos of the hallways at school . . .

He shoved the keys into the ignition.

He remembered the first time he had seen Trent and his friends walking down the hallways, how he had avoided them expertly and prided himself on keeping his distance. Now, he felt nothing but shame.

_Kings didn't run._

"Jess!"

Startled, Jess looked out the truck window and rolled it down in irritation. May Belle—home sick with her annual winter cough—was running to him, kitchen door swinging behind her and bare feet scampering across the dirt.

"Jess! Jess! Where are you going?"

"Just up the road," answered Jess as easily as he could.

"But what's going on up the road?"

"Nothing, really . . . I'll be right back. I just have something to take care of."

"Can I come?" his sister pleaded, coughing slightly. "Can I help?"

"No!" Jess said, alarmed. "Well, no. Thanks, May Belle, but I'm fine."

"But I want to come! Mom won't let me do anything." May Belle sniffed and coughed again. "I can help you, can't I?"

"Look, I'm sorry, May Belle," Jess said with a heavy groan, "but you really have to let me do this on my own."

"But . . .!" Suddenly she froze. Jess looked at her somewhat confusedly as—with a sigh—May Belle took a step back from the truck. "Okay."

Brow furrowed, Jess looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"Okay," May Belle repeated, shrugging. Her eyes were downcast.

"You're not . . . begging me to give in?"

"No, I guess not."

Jess felt a smile spreading across his face. He opened the door and stepped out incredulously, pulling his sister into a bear hug. May Belle threw her arms around him, instantly looking more joyful.

"I'm going up to the school for a second," he told her in a low voice. "But don't tell anybody, okay? Especially Leslie."

"You want me to keep a secret from her?" May Belle looked both delighted and astonished.

"Oh, she'll find out soon enough. But I know she'll try and stop me if she knows now."

"Why?"

"She just will," Jess said quietly. "Promise you won't tell?"

"I won't say a word," replied May Belle solemnly. "But you'll tell _me_ about it, won't you? When you get back?"

Jess chucked lightly. "Maybe."

Fifteen minutes later, he was pulling into the school he hadn't been to in what felt like months—but in reality was only a few days. It was four o'clock. School had been out for a while, but there were still kids hanging around the campus, smoking and hanging out on one of the fields or at their cars. And right by the auditorium walls stood what he was looking for—more than what he was looking for.

Jess shut his truck off and stepped outside, heart beating against his chest. Trent was leaning against the wall with a bored look on his face as one of his friends told the group some sort of story. There were four of them, simply standing and smoking, interrupting occasionally as their leader talked on.

The last thought that occurred to him before he threw his keys in the back of the truck was that logic must not have existed in that moment. Taking a deep breath and straightening his shoulders, Jess slowly, deliberately walked forward.

OOO

"I thought you were _beyond_ fighting, Jess," Nancy said for the hundredth time when they were in the doctor's office two hours later.

Jess, an icepack in his throbbing temple, snorted and turned to his mother

"You do realize this is _Trent_ we're talking about, right?" he asked.

"All I'm talking about at this moment is that I thought you could do better than throw punches. Even if you did do it for Leslie."

"I almost _didn't_ do it for Leslie," Jess said honestly as he shifted into a sitting position. He had been lying down on the patients' table. "She'll probably be furious at me, anyway. She doesn't believe in fighting. Even if it was the asshole who molested her."

"So why did you start a fight with him?"

"Because he put Leslie through hell, that's why," Jess tried to explain. He was surprisingly calm and collected and was rather pleased to find his mother not as upset as he expected her to be when his principal gave her a call. "And _no one_ puts my girlfriend through something like that unless they want their brains knocked out."

To his continued amazement Nancy chuckled. "What?" Jess asked. Then he realized with a start what he had called Leslie. He quickly tried to brush over it, saying, "You're not mad at me? I'm not punished?"

"Oh, no, you're grounded," his mother answered cheerfully. "Fighting is unacceptable no matter what, Jess, and you know that. But for some reason I happen to be proud of you. Your father is, too."

"You told him?" Jess said, heart sinking.

"Of course I told him. I called him the second I hung up with your principal and he laughed all the way through the conversation. And he should be here any minute, actually, I told him to stop by after work." She paused and smiled at his bemused expression. "I think the only person you'll have to deal with after this is your girlfriend."

Jess felt his face flush. "So . . . Brenda did tell you," he grumbled.

"Brenda?" Nancy asked, frowning slightly. "What would she have told us?"

"She didn't say anything about . . .?" Jess trailed off, confused.

"About what?" asked his mother patiently, grin back on her face. Jess sighed.

"Nothing." Jess paused. "About Leslie and I being . . . being . . . "

"More than friends?" Nancy asked quietly and he nodded. "No, Brenda didn't say anything to us. Why? Did she know?"

"Yeah. Sort of."

His mother chuckled. Jess looked at her.

"So you're not . . . freaking out on me."

"Of course not. I guess we all just sort of accepted that this day was going to come. We were just waiting until it did. Though I guessed that it wouldn't be until you both were in your junior year," she added thoughtfully. "Judy was wrong, too, though. She guessed it would be fourteen. But her bet was better than Bill's by far. He said it would be your second year of college."

"You've all been taking bets on when Leslie and I wouldn't be just friends anymore?" said Jess disbelievingly.

"Well, Jess, we all knew it would happen eventually and we just wondered _when_. How else were we going to pass the time?" Nancy laughed, shaking her head. "The way you kids are when you're together!" she added in a sigh, almost to herself. "God, Jess, you'll never know how wonderful a sight that was—is. I mean, the way you two were was just . . . _breathtaking_. Even when you were so young."

Jess sat in silence, trying to remain dignified despite this new knowledge and this sudden downpour of emotion from his mother. He hadn't known his and Leslie's friendship had affected his family so strongly.

The door opened. Jack entered the room, car keys in hand, and Jess gulped as he shut the door behind him.

"Well," his father stated, looking at the scrapes and bruises and bandages all over Jess's body. "Seems like you made a fool of yourself, son."

"Yeah, probably," Jess agreed. "But it was worth it," he added defensively.

For a moment Jack's lips twitched, then he turned to Nancy, who was blinking rapidly. "What?" he asked her as she started wiping underneath her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she said hurriedly. "It's just . . . I'm finding it so hard to be mad at him, aren't you, Jack? I mean, he did it for his girlfriend."

Jack turned back to Jess, who looked uneasily back into his eyes. "Girlfriend, huh?" he said conversationally. "Well, I guess we might be able to let this slide. A little bit, anyway."

"I was just telling him about our bet," Nancy explained, sniffing. "I lost."

"Yeah . . . you said it'd be junior year," said Jack, walking over to her and dropping an arm across her shoulders. "But man, Bill was _way_ off."

"You have got to be kidding me," Jess muttered and his parents burst into laughter.

"Calm down, boy, you've got enough to be worried about," Jack told him lightly. "Including the fact that Leslie is beside herself and just about ready to physically harm any part of you that isn't already beaten to a pulp."

"She knows?"

"Hmm." Jack thought for a second. "Well, I stopped by the house before I came here, to drop off take out for the girls and some cold medicine for May Belle . . . and she was over looking for you and I happened to let slip exactly where you were and how you ended up here—"

Jess sighed, putting a hand to his aching forehead.

"And now she happens to be waiting outside in the visitor lounge."

"Now?!"

"Yep. She refused to let me back in the truck unless she was coming, too," Jack answered, chuckling. "She was frantic. Still is, I'm sure. Kept on telling me you were either the dumbest or the bravest person she's ever been insane enough to know."

Jess smiled. "She couldn't come in?"

"We decided it would be best if I came to assess the situation first," Jack responded. "And the doctors weren't so keen on letting so many people come in at once."

Nancy took a deep breath. "Well, there's no need for us to yell at him, then."

"Yep," Jack said with a snort. "His girlfriend will do that for us."

Jess said nothing. When neither of his parents spoke for a minute, looking at him expectantly, he sighed deeply. "Go ahead and say what you're thinking," he told them, focusing on brushing the remaining dirt off of his pant leg. "Just let it out."

"We're not saying anything," Nancy said innocently.

"Nope, nothing at all," Jack added, biting his lip to keep from smiling

Jess rolled his eyes. "It happened a month ago, all right? I kissed her in her kitchen. It was sort of taking place all along and we just . . . we hadn't realized it, I guess."

"Well, we sure did," Nancy said, patting Jess's hand.

"It just . . . it just _happened_," Jess tried to explain, "really."

"That's how it works, son," Jack said. "And trust us, we couldn't be any happier."

Jess snorted.

"Really," Nancy said, chuckling. "We are. But we can't follow our bet anymore."

"Oh, we'll make new ones," said Jack confidently. "Maybe one about what day our grandchild will be born. Or the month when Ellie decides to go back to college."

Jess found himself laughing. "With the way Brenda and Ellie been acting lately I think that might actually happen."

"You've noticed it, too, huh?"

"Yeah. They're . . . they don't whine as much. They're _different_."

"They are," Nancy said proudly. "I think they're coming around."

Someone knocked on the door.

"I think someone else is, too," Jack mentioned.

"Is he in there?" came an angry voice. "Because if he is the doctor said I have permission to carry out my own sort of treatment on the well-deserving."

Jack chuckled and walked over to the door.

"Come on in, sweetheart," he said as he pulled it open. "He's—"

Leslie charged through the threshold before he could finish, looking as though she couldn't decide to be anxious or enraged. She stopped short when she saw Jess, sea-green eyes taking in his wounds as she breathed, "Oh, my _God_."

Jack closed the door behind her and walked back to Nancy wordlessly. The room was silent for a moment or two. Jess, despite his entire body aching as though someone had just put it through a sharpener, felt calmness wash through him at the sight of her: beautiful, wild, and fearless as she faced him.

"You're an idiot," Leslie said finally, irritation laying within her features.

Jess smiled. "I am, aren't I?"

Leslie stood there a second longer, then she sighed deeply, her furious expression crumbling as she laughed, shaking her head. Jess, taken aback, held his arms out to her as she flew into them, hugging him tightly.

"Ow!" he said, wincing, and Leslie moved away from him instantly.

"Sorry," she breathed, sitting down next to him, "sorry—no . . .no, I'm not sorry. You deserve to be—no you don't. It's just . . . God, Jess—" and suddenly she looked helpless, "what were you _thinking_?"

"Um, I wasn't?"

"Clearly."

"Well, I would have been fine if all of his friends weren't with—"

"There were other people there?" Leslie shrieked, whipping around momentarily to look at Jack and Nancy. They nodded silently; Nancy's eyes were sparkling. "You took on _all_ of them?! His entire freaking _cult_?!"

"Les—"

"I don't believe this! I leave you alone for _two_ seconds and you go do something completely _stupid_—"

"Leslie."

"And now you're going to look like some sort of criminal for our trial—with that black eye you look like you could have just broken out of prison—"

"Leslie—"

"And after what you just pulled off I wouldn't be surprised if you _were_ dragged away—"

"I got suspended," Jess butted in before she went off again and she froze. Wordlessly she turned to his parents.

"It's true," Nancy said. "And I told that principal that as long as that boy was still in school—"

"Wait," Leslie said, quiet now, "wasn't T—wasn't he taken to . . . I thought he got sent to that juvenile thing. Why _is _he still at school?"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Jess said, suddenly curious.

"I talked to Bill this morning, Leslie . . ." said Jack somewhat hesitantly, "and we're not really sure here—I mean, we're just guessing that what had happened was his mother bailed him out so he could go back to school instead. Apparently if he gets his grades up or something—"

"Your trial will determine whether he stays in school or goes back to the juvenile prison," Nancy said softly. "His mother got wind of what had happened and . . . and insisted."

Leslie looked incredulous. "When was this decision reached?"

"We only heard about it this morning, sweetheart," Nancy said apologetically. "I'm sure your parents were waiting for a good time to tell you."

Leslie said nothing for a second, then she turned back to Jess. "And you were officially suspended?"

"Officially _withdrawn_," Jack corrected gently before Jess could speak. "Nancy told the principal he wasn't coming back. Is that right, honey?"

"Yes," Nancy said simply. "And even before today Judy and Bill were waiting to discuss the option with you, Leslie."

Jess and Leslie turned to each other, incredulous.

"And to add further confusion, it seems that _I_ have—" Jack started but he was interrupted as the door opened and a man in a white coat entered the room.

"All right, all right, here . . . Jess Aarons?" he asked and Nancy got to her feet; Jack stepped forward.

"Yes, sir?" Jess asked from his table

"It seems like you're good to go . . . just remember to keep that wrist bound for four weeks and those cuts clean until they're all healed, all right? I've got some instructions for your parents, here . . . . Ma'am, if I could just get you to sign some forms—"

"Absolutely," Nancy said and Leslie got up as well.

"I'll keep her company," she whispered to Jess as Nancy followed the doctor out through the door. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"I'll try."

She kissed his forehead gently, then followed Nancy through the entryway. Jack watched her go and when she had gone, he turned back to Jess.

"Well," hesaid and at the finality in his tone Jess started to drag himself to his feet. He could certainly walk better than he could an hour ago. As though he was sensing this, Jack asked jokingly, "Think you can make it to the door?"

"Of course," Jess said and Jack shook his head in amusement.

"Then let's go. Food's waiting at home."

As they slowly started to walk down the hallway, Jack added, "And help me think of another bet we old timers can get kicks out of. One I can predict as well as what age you two would officially start going out."

"Well, if you can predict so well, what age was _your_ guess?" Jess demanded and his father chuckled again.

"Sixteen," he said smugly. "And I was right."

* * *

**Well, we've come to the climax of the story. The next chapter will tell you Terabithia's fate. Stay tuned!**

**And please review – I live for reviews, guys! Thank you SO much if you have stayed with me for this long! Can you believe it's been almost two years since I started this story?!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**Without further ado, here is the most anticipated chapter of them all.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"This hearing will come to order!"

Jess's insides turned to stone. Greg Jacklyn's words echoed through his mind more loudly than the shot of the gavel cracking onto the podium did, and he suddenly became aware of the court trembling with life all around him. The onlookers behind him whispered, the _Miranda's Outfitting!_ owner, Mr. Buckley, and Kelsey Thomas herself murmured softly, and paper shuffled all around the courtroom. The room was so large that the hundred people seated inside of it seemed to make no difference to its mass, and all of the noises were as intensified as his nerves.

Heart hammering, Jess turned his head a fraction of an inch to look at Leslie, who sat beside him. She wordlessly placed her hand over his, keeping her blazing eyes on Mr. Jacklyn.

"Now," the Council President said, "the committee will read their report of the issue at hand. Those in support of the proposal shall have their opportunity to speak. The Commissioners will then hear those opposed to the proposal."

Mr. Jacklyn sat in the center of a half-circle at the front of the room, and the committee sat grouped around him. At his word, a woman at the end of the curved table rose and read aloud the report that Jess did not need to hear. He, Leslie, and the Miranda's Outfitting representatives sat facing the committee while the onlookers were behind them, but though he could not see his family and the Burkes unless he turned around, Jess felt better knowing that they were there.

The woman reading the report sat down, and Jess swallowed nervously, clenching Leslie's hand more tightly without realizing it.

"The committee now invites Kelsey Thomas of _Miranda's Outfitting!_ to speak," a bald man to the right of Mr. Jacklyn roared enthusiastically. His voice was still echoing through the room as Ms. Thomas, a pencil-thin woman with bright red lipstick and brown hair piled up on her head, marched to the stand in front of the council. She faced the onlookers and attempted to turn her permeant frown into a smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she said and Jess felt a flare of annoyance rush through him at the sound of her sickly-sweet voice, "I would like to start out by stressing the importance of the company I represent."

Leslie whispered something to herself beside him, and Jess briefly turned to look at her in concern. As Ms. Thomas droned on and as he took notes about what she was saying, Jess could not help but recall what Leslie had gone through over the few weeks leading up to the hearing.

" . . . and to think that our claim has been challenged by the fact that there are some people upset about losing a few acers of land . . . !"

Ms. Thomas was angry, and Jess closed his eyes briefly in silent agony. Leslie was angry, too.

After her first therapy session in the second week of January, Leslie had flatly told her parents that she refused to return. Unfortunately for her, Judy and Bill remained firm on their decision. Every other day of that whole week, when four o'clock rolled around, the Aarons household could usually hear voices being raised and doors being slammed from across the dirt road. One afternoon Judy came rushing over to the Aarons' home, apologetic and frantic.

"I'm so sorry to drag you into this, Jess," she had said, looking harassed, "but we think that you could talk some sense into her. She won't open her bedroom door."

And Jess had walked to the Burke house with her and Leslie had let him in, and she had listened to him talk to her in a low, gentle voice, eventually breaking down in tears when he asked her quietly to go to her session. After that, she'd gone to her therapy meetings sullenly, but without a fight.

Jess finished up a note on his paper as Ms. Thomas talked on, and he stole a look over his shoulder. His family was sitting with Bill and Judy, looking anxious. Joyce Ann was at her friend's house for the day, but the rest of his sisters were sitting on their benches silently -- May Belle looked worried, but Ellie and Brenda wore no expressions on their faces.

"I now invite the owner of _Miranda's Outfitting!_, Mr. Buckley, to the stand, to elaborate more on behalf of those who are not opposed to progress," Ms. Thomas finally finished, and there was scattered applause as she took her seat. Mr. Buckley slowly got out of his chair, as though he were wishing he were someplace else.

"The committee now welcomes Mr. Jared Buckley!" screamed the bald man, and Leslie winced as the sound of his voice pierced through the room. Under the shelter of the table they sat at, Jess felt her grip his hand more strongly than before.

There had been times, over the last two weeks, when he had hugged her or unthinkingly touched her arm or shoulder and Leslie had flinched, then, too.

Nothing made Jess's heart ache more than seeing her eyes widen, first with fear, then with utter apology and despair as she kissed him and told him that she was all right, everything was all right. There were days when neither of them could let go of one another out of passion they did not understand . . . and then there were times when Leslie was nervous and uncollected, and those were the days that increased Jess's longing to make her feel safe, and to bring the man who had done her wrong to justice.

_After this, there's one more trial she has to go through_, he thought to himself as Mr. Buckley talked, and his heart filled with utter dread.

"We ask the council to consider the benefits that we have stated," Mr. Buckley was now saying. "In conclusion, we ask that the committee and the people of Lark Creek recognize that another clothing store would promote the town's economy and a larger growth of housing developments up in the area in question. We humbly thank our city's young adults for their concern of the environment," and here he nodded in Jess and Leslie's direction, "and now we ask them, as well as the citizens of Lark Creek, to understand that the benefits of another retail store are far greater than the benefits of saving a few acres of land."

The onlookers burst into hearty applause, and Jess and Leslie looked at each other in despair. Several people had turned out in the court to support them, including, to their surprise, their gym teacher Coach and Mr. Strellgate himself, but perhaps they were no match for cooperate officials.

"Thank you, Mr. Buckley!" the bald man hollered into the applause and Mr. Jacklyn shot him a look.

"Now," he said as the courtroom quieted. "We will hear the opposing side to the issue at hand, presented by Mr. Jesse Aarons and Ms. Leslie Burke."

"The committee reminds you," yelled the bald man, "that you will have three minutes to summarize and support the side you will be--"

"Pardon me," Leslie answered sweetly, her strong, fearless tone easily cutting through the shouts of the bald man and immediately silencing the chatter of the onlookers, "but according to the town legislature of Lark Creek, we should have six."

There was a moment of stunned silence in the courtroom, during which the bald man blinked in confusion and the committee gazed at her, clearly impressed. Ms. Thomas glared at her through her dark eye makeup. Jess, heart burning with ardor, squeezed her hand. Mr. Jacklyn gave Leslie a small smile.

"Ms. Burke is quite right," he announced. "You may approach the stand when you are ready."

Jess turned to look at her as he stood to speak first, and she gazed at him with determination and encouragement in her eyes. It warmed Jess through, and he found himself walking to the stand, hardly aware that everyone was looking at him. He had never been good with crowds, but if Leslie was convinced that he could speak to them, then he was, too.

"Lark Creek," he began into the microphone that awaited him, a little loudly. He leaned back. "Sorry," he said and there were a few chuckles in the courtroom. "Lark Creek," he began again, hardly recognizing the scholarly tone he spoke in, "I'd like to start by thanking _Miranda's Outfitting!_ for offering their views on the issue at hand, and for granting our state with the economic benefits they rightly claim they have provided us with."

Applause rang through the courtroom, but out of the corner of his eye Jess saw Leslie shift impatiently. She was in one of her moods, and though they had planned everything they were going to say in advance, Jess could see that now she thought he was wasting their valuable time with diplomatic regards. He knew that he only had three minutes to say his part, and he nodded at her to show he understood.

"However," he said and anxiety started to sink in as the applause died. He glanced down at the index cards he and Leslie had slaved over a few nights before. "However, I am here to stress the importance of something that cannot speak for itself: our environment.

"It has been rightly said that the benefits of another retail store in Lark Creek will be greater than the ones we will have if we were to leave that land alone," Jess said, ignoring the whispers that had started to occur in the audience and between members of the jury, "but please note that the consequences will be greater, too. It has been mentioned that housing developments . . . well, Lark Creek wants to build more houses and that the building of this store will be the beginning of that. Well, what about that farm land?" Jess suddenly saw Mr. Strellgate nodding slowly, and, heartened, he went on, "What about all of those acres that help to produce our food? If we develop those fields will we find more to replace them? And let's look at the forest itself. The land in question is far beyond the outskirts of the main city of Lark Creek, and to suggest that people would drive to the middle of nowhere to buy clothes is, and forgive me for saying this, kind of ridiculous."

Jack was grinning at him, eyes full of pride and laughter and Jess shifted his index cards easily, no longer nervous.

"Our environment offers more to us than we could ever imagine. The forest we speak of, the land not far from Mr. Tom Strellgate's grounds, has provided my friend and I with a sense of comfort that cannot be easily described. We grew up on that land. We've watched it grow, too. We . . . " Jess realized he was talking too quickly now, and he took a deep breath. "We do not understand how Lark Creek could support the destruction of a so many acres of land in order to make way for a clothing store that could benefit the economy much more -- if it were _somewhere_ _else_."

Ms. Thomas was glaring at him, now. His family and the Burkes were smiling and nodding, and though Jess could pick out several agreeing faces in the crowd of onlookers, he realized that most of them were frowning.

"In order to give you all insight on the land in question," he said nervously, finished at last, "I now invite Ms. Leslie Burke to the stand."

Leslie rose gracefully to her feet, and, as was usual when people saw her for the first time, Jess saw many people in the room do a double take. Her face was calm and she walked with authority to the stand while Jess began to walk back to his seat, and though she gave him a look of upmost affection as they passed one another, her eyes were positively on fire. She threw her head back and faced the now-silent courtroom as she stood at the podium.

Jess took his seat.

Leslie hesitated.

_Come on, _Jess willed her as she stood silently at the podium, gazing at her index cards, _come on, Les, you can do this, you've practiced this a hundred times -- _

"You know," Leslie spoke into the silence, suddenly looking up from the note cards, "I had a nice speech ready for you guys. Yeah, I . . . I _had_ planned to discuss the benefits our town will have should we decide to abandon the construction but . . . but now I don't think that's important anymore."

Jess felt panic spreading through him as she tossed the note cards to the ground. They had been outlining their speeches and responses for weeks, and every word out of Leslie's mouth was not anything they had planned to say. What was she doing?

"We are not here to talk about Lark Creek's economy," Leslie said harshly to a dead silent crowd, "and quite frankly, I find it irrelevant to the cause. We are not here to discuss the benefits of completely destroying a forest and tossing in a retail store among the dead trees and the ripped up plants. This hearing is for deciding whether or not that forest deserves to remain intact, whether or not we will submit to lawbreakers with materialistic ideals."

She had struck gold. Grown adults in the audience were looking at her with respect now, and several members of the committee were starting to look interested.

"You say that we are upset about losing a few acres of land," Leslie went on, turning to glare at Kelsey Thomas who sat giving her death looks in her chair, "well, you're wrong." She faced the onlookers again. "We are upset that this town cares so little about the trees that give us oxygen and more about _clothes _that we can buy from someplace else."

Jess, through his absolute disbelief, shot an uneasy look at Brenda. Anyone in the audience had the right to say their opinions after their speeches were over.

"We," Leslie kept talking, "are upset that the clothing company _Miranda's Outfitting! illegally_," she nearly shouted the word,_ "_planned to overtake land that, at first, was not rightfully theirs, and that this town was willing to go along with it for the sake of having yet another clothing store.

"You say that we young adults should understand the benefits of having another retail store in Lark Creek," Leslie shot at Mr. Buckley. "Well, I can't possibly be a young adult, sir. I must be a _child_, because I do _not_ understand why grownups have to kill an innocent forest because they're too lazy to find another area to build in. I must be a child because I do _not_ understand why grownups have to take away the one place my friend and I have cherished for six years, the place we have always relied on to be our safe place amongst all the agony our lives have been."

She stopped, and there was not one sound in the huge courtroom they sat in. Jess could hardly breathe.

"I believe," Leslie started again, emotion trembling through the steels of her voice, "that Lark Creek can do better than this. If you want clothes, fine. Have them. Build a huge _Miranda's Outfitting!_ store in the middle of the city. Better yet, build it next to the high school, where you'll be sure to get more customers. But don't you dare touch that forest, because the consequences of its destruction _will_ be more severe than the benefits. I would hate to see the morals the land represents go up in smoke."

She turned on her heel and marched back to her seat without another word, and applause positively shattered the roof of the courtroom. Utter awe spread through Jess as Leslie, trembling, took her place beside him and the applause continued. Mr. Greg Jacklyn was clapping, too, as he rose to his feet.

"Thank you, very much, for your wonderful arguments," he said, beaming at the two of them as the applause finally died down. "Now, for the convenience of the townsfolk of Lark Creek, we will now take this time to allow further comments to be made regarding the issue at hand. The committee thanks both presenters once again, and asks them to please exit the courtroom at this time."

The courtroom began to talk rapidly amongst themselves as Jess and Leslie rose and silently filed out toward the door to the right of them; they didn't have to go through the crowd onlookers but they did have to cross the section where Ms. Thomas and Mr. Buckley were gathering their materials and heading toward the door, as well. Leslie charged through the courtroom like a woman possessed, and Jess had to trot to keep up with her.

"That," he said the moment they walked into the small hallway that led to the main entrance of the courthouse, "was unbelievable."

"I'll say," Leslie said furiously, her eyes flashing. "The _nerve_ of those people, to stand up there and -- "

"No," said Jess as the _Miranda's Outfitting!_ representatives, talking loudly, walked quickly in front of them and headed out to the lobby, "your speech. Leslie . . . you winged all of that?"

"Well, the speech I'd written earlier was going to get us nowhere," she grumbled. "I thought I'd have to say something else."

They had walked so quickly that they were in the lobby, now. Ms. Thomas and Mr. Buckley were opening the front glass doors, not even glancing behind them, and hurrying outside. No one else was in the lobby with them, other than a receptionist working at her computer a hundred feet away. No committee, no onlookers, no courtroom. It was all behind them now.

"You were amazing," Jess said fervently. He could hardly speak. All of his anxiety had melted into utter pride for his queen. "God, Leslie, you really were. You won us the case, I know you did. You were unbelievable."

Leslie stopped pacing about and she stood facing him, suddenly looking as them as though just realizing he was there. She flew at him without a warning, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him with such passion Jess had to take a few steps back in order not to fall over. "Les," he laughed between kisses, "Les, someone could come out any minute."

She stopped and leaned back slightly, but kept her arms around him. "Oh, Jess, you spoke wonderfully, too," she whispered. Their voices echoed in the lobby that looked so much like the one they had entered to see Greg Jacklyn so long ago. "You were perfect."

Jess grinned, then his smile faded as another thought struck him.

"What?" Leslie asked softly.

"I wish we could know what they were saying in there," he murmured as a phone rang in the distance. "Part of the final decision is based on what the townspeople have to say."

"Jess, screw them," Leslie said and Jess blinked in surprise. "We gave it our all and if they don't have the decency to agree with us then we can go find another place to live."

Jess laughed at her. "We will, will we?"

"Well, we will when we're older," Leslie amended. "I want a small house. Not like the huge one I'm living in. And it has to be in the middle of nowhere where no retail company could ever touch the land around it."

"Well, then," said Jess, putting his arms around her waist, "I will find you a small house."

"And PT has to be able to find his way around," Leslie murmured. "He's always getting lost in my house now. And we have to have a big oak tree right next in the backyard. I'd put a swing on one of the branches."

Jess chuckled as he kissed her forehead. "We'll have all of that."

Leslie smiled with happiness, then her grin faded as she added quietly, "But . . . but that doesn't help Terabithia."

They were silent. In the distance they heard the muffled voices inside the courtroom. Beside them, a large clock ticked into the stillness.

"Leslie," Jess said hesitantly, "I love Terabithia. But I . . . I love you more. You created Terabithia for us when we needed it. And now . . . well, now as long as I have you, I don't need anything else."

Leslie's eyes shone and she hugged him to her, resting her cheek on Jess's neck, the top of her head right under his chin. Jess closed his eyes and held her tightly.

"I feel the same way," she whispered. "Oh, God, I love Terabithia, too, and I don't think I could bear to lose it." She was blinking back tears, but she was smiling. "But . . . Jess . . . if I have you with me, then . . . then I think I could try."

OOO

They were sitting outside in the chilly January whether when the crowd of people exited the courthouse half and hour later. Standing up and walking through the clusters of people, they looked for their families and talked with Mr. Strellgate and several others who stopped them to shake their hands and tell them they had supported their cause.

"Is that Coach?" Jess asked at one point, pointing through the crowd, and Leslie gasped as their third period gym teacher came into view.

"It is!"

They called his name until he turned and saw them, and they hurried toward each other happily.

"So I was right, this turned out to be a show after all!" Coach said heartily as he wrung their hands. "My God, how are you? How are you guys? You were brilliant, both of you. I've missed you two. You were my best students."

"We're so glad you came today," said Jess, and he meant it.

"And we missed you, too," Leslie said earnestly. "Your class was the only one we looked forward to in that school."

Coach roared with laughter. "Bless your heart, Burke. I'm actually rather glad you guys are out of that hell house. I mean, there were some rumors floating around about you a--" He paused, smile vanishing, and he looked a bit uncomfortable. "What I mean is, I'm just happy that you've been removed from any . . . any situation that could have occurred . . . "

"It's true," Leslie said quietly, "and it's being dealt with. And Jess and I aren't coming back to the high school because of it."

Coach nodded solemnly. "I'm so sorry to hear it," he said, unlike his cheery self. "You're a good girl, Burke, not like the other young women that run around in that place. Is there going to be a trial?"

"On Valentine's Day," Leslie said. "A little over three weeks from now."

"Well, Burke, I wish you all the luck in the world," Coach said. "No need for it, though. You've got a good friend to support you."

Leslie smiled at Jess. "I sure do," she agreed, and Jess's heart lifted with happiness.

Coach shook their hands again, and wished them nothing but the best. And after Leslie and Jess had thanked him for his support, he chuckled and said, "You're good kids, both of you. And I know you're going to be just fine. But listen," he said and his voice grew lower. "The arguments were pretty good on both sides. It's going to be close. You were the best, of course, but there are some people who don't think so. A whole lot of people argued for your side, though."

Jess and Leslie looked at one another anxiously, but they thanked Coach again and smiled until he had gone.

"Well," Leslie said in a small voice as they watched him go, "we have support, then."

Before Jess could answer her, they heard a shout amongst the great crowd around them.

"Jess! Leslie! Over here!"

Their families were struggling to get through the waves of people walking up and down the stairs leading to the great glass doors, waving in their direction. Jess and Leslie hurried to the bottom of the steps of the courthouse entry while their families all trotted up to greet them; May Belle reached the two of them first and she happily tackled Jess in a bear hug.

"Well!" Jack said triumphantly as Nancy pried May Belle off of Jess and Judy hugged Leslie tightly, "well done, I'd say. Very well done, the both of you."

"Honey, did you really come up with that speech right there on the platform?" Judy asked her daughter in astonishment, and Leslie shrugged.

"You were _wonderful_," said Nancy enthusiastically, beaming.

"Absolutely," said Bill. He was looking at his daughter with utter pride in his eyes. "And I've never been so proud to call you _my_ child, Leslie."

"And now all you have to do is wait," Jack said as Leslie flung herself into her father's arms. "The worst is over."

"Yes," Leslie agreed, smiling slightly. "I guess it is."

"We just saw our old coach -- he said the arguments were good on both sides after we left," Jess said, looking around at the adults.

"Well, they were," Nancy said gently. "But we think you stand a fair chance."

"We _know_ you do," Bill added.

"You were _really_ good, after all," May Belle said, brown eyes sincere, and Jess flicked her forehead with a finger thankfully. Leslie gave her a big hug.

"And more people than you think agree with you," Jack said as they all started to walk down the stone steps toward the parking lot. "There were many people who were not willing to build over the forest and ruin the environment for the sake of a store we don't need."

"And we all pitched in our own thoughts," Judy said with a wink, and Jess and Leslie smiled.

"Thank you," Leslie said gratefully and Jess nodded.

"Yeah, it means a lot," he added. His mother hugged him again.

"Well, let's go find Brenda and Ellie . . . we can all wait by the cars until the committee is done discussing this," Bill suggested, and Jess, looking around, realized for the first time that neither of his elder sisters were with then.

"Where are they, anyway?" he asked aloud.

"They went to meet up with their friends," Nancy said gently, glancing over at Jack, who added, "They both brought several people to the hearing. I think they wanted to thank them for coming."

"Brenda really convinced a lot of people, I think," May Belle said, looking anxiously up at Jess. "She spoke for a long time."

"_Brenda_ did?" Leslie said sharply.

"She _spoke_?" asked Jess, temper flaring. The four adults looked at each other uneasily.

"Well, the thing is, Jess, everyone had the right to say their opinions in front of the council," said Bill quietly.

"I should have known she'd do something like that," Jess said, almost to himself. Furious exasperation was spreading through him. "I can't believe she'd torment us . . . after everything we've been through . . . "

"Why is it that after everything we do there is someone who tries to bring us down?" Leslie asked in despair and Jess chimed in hotly, "She _knows_ what that forest means to us. And she argued for its destruction on _purpose_?"

"Why would she do this to us?" cried Leslie.

"Jess, Leslie," Jack said, his tone serious, "don't you want to know whose side she was on?"

Jess opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Leslie looked dumbstruck. No one spoke. Everyone had paused; the adults and May Belle were looking at the two of them expectantly.

"She was on Ms. Thomas's side," Jess said after an awkward silence. "Arguing for the store to be built."

"Wasn't she?" Leslie asked, eyes holding utter incomprehension.

The adults looked at one another again, and they were smiling slightly this time. May Belle shook her head silently at Jess.

No one had moved from their spot at the foot of the stairs, but through the crowd of people rushing by and standing in groups in front of the courthouse, Jess saw Brenda and Ellie shoving their way through clusters to get to them. When they reached the group, pink faced from the cold, neither of them directly looked at Jess or Leslie.

"Is it okay if we go to the car now?" Brenda asked Jack and Nancy. "We don't have to go, I mean . . . I just . . . I want to sit down."

"Of course, honey, we were headed there now," Nancy said, and Jack handed her the keys. Judy put her arm around May Belle and they followed Nancy as she led Brenda and Ellie down the last cluster of steps that led to the parking lot. Jess and Leslie stared after them in utter disbelief. Jack and Bill waited patiently for them to start walking, and when they did not, Jack said, "We'll be at the cars, you two."

"Stay warm, sweetheart, go inside if you plan to wait for Greg to come out," Bill told a speechless Leslie, then both fathers turned and followed the group down the remainder of the stairs.

Jess and Leslie gazed at one another in utter incredulity. For some amount of time they stood in silence, unable to comprehend the knowledge they had just gained, then --

"Jess! Leslie!"

They turned. Greg Jacklyn was walking down the stairs, and the two of them began to walk toward the him. As they got closer, Jess saw a piece of paper in his hands. The three of them met up near the entry of the courthouse.

"Hello, sir," Leslie said cheerfully. "Have they reached a decision already?"

Mr. Jacklyn hesitated as he looked at them. His eyes held nothing but sympathy.

Jess's heart plummeted.

"Your argument was good," Mr. Jacklyn said, "and you had a lot of support. Your elder sister in particular was able to convince many people on your behalf. But . . . " he trailed off, and he gave them a small smile as he held the letter in his hands out to them. "I've very sorry."

Leslie's face was blank, and she was dead silent as she silently took the letter from him. Jess felt numb. Somehow, some way, he nodded and held out his hand to shake Greg Jacklyn's and offer him his thanks, and then the Council President was gone, and he and Leslie stood alone.

The crowds of people were still talking, unaware that the decision had been made, but Jess could hardly hear them. The world was going strangely hollow as Jess looked over Leslie's shoulder to read the letter. It was warm, apparently fresh from a printer, but it grew colder from Leslie's tears that were splashing onto it.

The two of them stood reading the letter that they did not need to see for a long time. Then, automatically, Jess offered his open arms to Leslie and she melted into them.

They did not have to fight any longer. The battle was over.

They'd lost.

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**I have to be honest, the reason it took such a long time to update was because I was not at all interested in the Terabithia trial . . . I wanted to get to Leslie's and it was hard to write when I wasn't inspired (and swamped with school and work). I'm so sorry for the late update -- I'm still trying as hard as I can to get this story done. Again, I never abandon a story -- this WILL get done!**

**I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about this particular chapter, so thank you in advance for your reviews!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I won't talk now, we'll meet at the end. :D**

**For now, enjoy!**

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No one talked much during the ride home. The air in the pickup truck was thick with a fragile calmness that was more opt to remain intact in a noiseless setting, and Jess was very grateful that his parents and his younger sister let him suffer in silence.

The pickup passed the high school, and at the same time, Jess glanced in the rear view mirror and saw Brenda and Ellie in their car behind the truck. Ellie was saying something to Brenda; his eldest sister was staring straight ahead, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel slowly.

Mixed emotions rose within Jess unexpectedly -- loathing for the school he and Leslie had escaped from, despair for the forest that would soon be destroyed, and now . . . Brenda . . . .

Jess put a shaking hand to his temple.

"Well," Nancy broke the stillness from the front seat. She cleared her throat. "Well," she began again, "Judy and I wanted to surprise the two of you with a big early dinner, and we've made all sorts of food. We were planning to go over to the Burke's after the trial but . . . but, I mean we can save you a plate if you'd rather sit it out. That's perfectly fine."

Jess concentrated on looking out the window.

"Judy made chocolate cream pie," May Belle chipped in, looking up at Jess with wide eyes. Jess forced himself to smile.

"Our favorite," he said. His voice didn't sound normal.

"Look, son," his father said abruptly, "those townsfolk -- "

"Jack," Nancy cut him off. Jack shut his mouth, sighing as he turned onto the dirt road. Nancy glanced back at Jess, eying him worriedly for a moment or two before turning forward again.

"I'm really sorry, Jess," May Belle said quietly.

Jess tried to smile again. He pulled at her hair briefly, making her giggle, but his chest felt too heavy to say anything to her. The pickup followed Bill's BMW onto the dirt road that led to their homes, and Jess looked out the window again.

At the place in the road that was directly between the two houses, the BMW stopped and slowly made a U-turn so the two drivers could face one another. Jack rolled down his window at the same time Bill did. Brenda stopped hers and Ellie's car behind them.

"So I think we're still on for tonight," Bill called to Jack, Judy leaning toward him slightly so she, too, could see Jack and Nancy in the front of their car. "Leslie's got a session at four so you all come on over around five thirty, if you want. We'll just let the kids -- "

The BMW's car door opened and Leslie leapt out of it, tugging off her heels as she raced furiously toward Stellgate's fields that led to Terabithia. Jess sprang from his seat in the truck as Judy called Leslie's name halfheartedly, throwing the pickup's door open as he crashed onto the ground.

"Jess -- " someone was saying but Jess wasn't listening. Leslie was nearly out of sight but he could see her hair flying back as she ran barefoot, taking flight across the land in desperation to reach the shelter that would soon be gone.

"Jess, honey, why don't you -- "

"Leslie!"

"I think we'd -- "

Jess didn't care anymore. The only thing in the world that was now of any importance to him was now bolting across the land as though life itself depended on it. He didn't care about the forest or his family calling his name . . . all he could think of, for whatever reason, was what Leslie had said after they had called Miranda's Outfitting, after they had learned what was going to happen for the first time:

"We fight . . . "

And in an instant, he was running after her.

OOO

Leslie charged through the makeshift bridge that towered over the creek and onto the solid ground of the familiar forest, Jess hurrying to keep up with her. By the time he reached her side they were both at the clearing where the trees that had held their treehouse lay in ruins. All that remained of their stronghold was fifty or so rotting, splinted pieces of wood scattered around the trees and dirt.

Jess stood still, taking it the horrible day all over again.

Leslie was walking tenderly now, bare feet touching lightly on the dirt floor of the forest as she danced back and forth, looking frantically around at the ground at ankle-level.

"Les?" Jess asked timidly as she continued to search the ground. She did not answer him, only pushed hair out of her face as she circled the clearing once or twice, eyes never leaving the dirt. Finally, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"There," she said triumphantly, speaking for the first time since Mr. Jacklyn had handed them the letter. "I thought I saw it earlier."

Jess walked over to her. He gazed at the dirt at a small mass of green on the ground, its color vividly standing against the brown dirt. "You thought . . . you saw a leaf?"

"It's not a leaf." She bent down and lifted part of it gently with a slender finger, raising it upward to the sky, and Jess saw the roots connected to the rest of it, woven in with strands of clumped soil.

"A plant?" Jess said.

"The frost usually kills all the tiny living things this time of year," Leslie said. She was gazing at the plant as though her life depended on it. "All of the newborn plants die, everything curls up and never sees the sun again, and it's the logical thing to happen, right? I mean, winter comes. The strong things live. The weak things die. That's how life works, right?"

Not for the first time in the years he had known Leslie, Jess was thoroughly lost.

"But this plant is still here," Leslie pressed on, raising her eyes to Jess's. "But why should it be? Why didn't it die with the other new plants? It pulled through. It survived."

Jess sat down on the forest floor next to her. "It's because it's in Terabithia," he said shakily, though in his head he added, but not for long.

"It's because," said Leslie, "it had the will to make it through."

"It's just a plant, Leslie," Jess said gently.

"It's life," she answered, not sharply, but in a way that told Jess that he would be better off if he kept quiet, "no matter how small or helpless it is. And I think it's just as strong as us, if not stronger."

Jess said nothing.

"If that life can make it through times that destroyed everything else," Leslie continued, straightening up and pointing back down at the tiny green plant, "then why can't we?"

Her voice broke on her last word, and utter, heart-wrenching emotion spread through her tone as her final barrier collapsed. Jess bit his lip as he looked around at the forest, seeing the trees that had held their treehouse and the clearings that had been host to so many battles and missions and quests. He took in the gentle beams of light that illuminated certain ferns, particular oaks, rays that had spelled out adventure for him and Leslie for the last six or seven years.

And he turned again to look at his queen, gazing at him with stricken eyes, as though desperately willing him to understand her.

"This forest is doomed, Leslie," Jess said in a hollow voice. He ran his hands through his hair and looked up at the tops of the trees. "A year from now this place is going to be something else. Something more different than we've ever known it."

He looked back down to see Leslie's eyes filled with tears.

"But Terabithia won't die," Jess went on, almost whispering. "It never will. Not while both of us are still here. Not while we can look down that dirt road back there and remember all the times we ran down it to get here."

"That little plant survived everything," murmured Leslie, wiping her eyes.

"And so will we," Jess said quietly, and he put a hesitant hand on her shoulder. When Leslie didn't flinch, he took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head between his neck and shoulder, hugging him tightly in return.

"I don't care anymore," she wept, and Jess felt her chest heaving with sobs as she spoke, " . . . as long as you're here with me I don't care what happens next . . . I just d-don't care . . . just promise you won't leave m-me, too . . . "

And Jess held her face between his palms as tenderly as he could and wiped her tears away while holding back his own. He kissed her forehead and nose and cheeks and eyes and lips over and over again as she cried, silently promising to her the only thing he had left, the only thing that had subconsciously become more important than anything else.

OOO

The late afternoon was cooler than most but Jess sat outside on the front porch step anyway, desperate to get away from his mother's sympathetic eyes and his little sisters' random and rib-crushing hugs that they had started giving him every time they ran into him. Leslie, far against her will, was at her therapy session, this time with a group of girls with similar experiences as hers. Jess had dropped her off at her house about an hour before.

"There you guys are. Leslie, I was getting a bit worried, I thought you had forgotten about your session," Judy had said as they walked in, her eyes flickering back and forth between Jess and Leslie. Leslie's lips were swollen, as were Jess's, he was sure -- something that had not gone unnoticed. "Honey, we need to leave in fifteen minutes."

"You knew the trial was today," muttered Leslie which had triggered an immediate reaction from the next room.

"We are not discussing this, Leslie," her father had called. "It'll be just for an hour, sweetheart. And when you get back the Aarons will come over for just a little bit."

Jess had forced himself to leave before it got ugly. He stayed in his house for a while before he started to feel utterly restless. and in the end he had sat down on the porch step and watched the sun start to sink into the winter horizon. Nancy and Judy were in the kitchen baking last minute pies and casseroles, Jack had stopped by his office and Bill was on the phone with an attorney across the street.

Jess heard the screen door open and close behind him and he expected to hear Joyce Ann begging him to come in and play dolls with her, or May Belle scuttle across the porch and throw her arms around his neck. What he didn't expect was a few moments of silence dotted with quiet footsteps, then for a silent Brenda to sit down next to him on the porch step. Jess glanced up at her to make sure that she hadn't completely gone insane -- however, she was not looking at him.

"One more trial," she said suddenly. Following her gaze, Jess realized that she was gazing at the Burke house. "It's on Valentine's Day, isn't it?"

Jess tried to speak past the astonishment that was thick in his throat. "Yeah, it is."

They sat silently together for several minutes. Jess cast a sideways glance at his sister. Her face was expressionless; the ugly scowl he was so used to seeing on her face was missing, and she hadn't bothered to shadow her eyes in makeup that day. Her hands rested on the bulge of her stomach, and as Jess watched her gaze at the Burke's house thoughtfully, suddenly he could take it no longer.

"Why did you do it?"

Brenda looked at him. Her dark eyes were calmer than they had been in ages.

"I mean, what . . . why did you come for us? And speak up for the . . . I don't . . . " Jess put a hand to his aching head. "I don't understand."

Brenda shrugged. "I'm not Mother Theresa," she said. "I don't just do nice shit out of the goodness of my heart. I do it 'cause I feel like it."

"But why did you suddenly feel like helping us?" Jess asked, lost.

His sister didn't answer.

"You wanted that stupid clothing store, you wanted to make us miserable. And you hate Leslie." Jess rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. "Brenda, I just don't . . . why?"

Brenda looked at the porch step, frowning. "I just . . . " she started, and she trailed off. They both sat there for a long time.

Finally Brenda took a breath.

"I know Trent," she said quietly.

Jess's heart skipped a few beats. "What?"

"I know him," Brenda repeated. Her voice was hollow. "His older brother is the father of my baby."

Something similar to a bomb was going off in Jess's chest. He couldn't speak, he could only look at his sister in horror.

"I have to keep in contact with Brett, Trent's older brother," Brenda mumbled, still looking at the ground. "To keep him updated and shit. Back in October he just mentioned that his little brother had a thing for some blonde chick at the high school that wore weird clothes or something . . . I figured out it was Leslie. That's why I told her . . . well, she was letting people take things away from her . . . but look," she said abruptly and her eyes snapped, "I had no idea, no idea, that it was that bad. Jess, I promise you."

Jess was speechless.

"And, okay, so a few weeks ago when Brett told me his little brother had a trial set up for Valentine's Day . . . " Brenda put a hand on her forehead. "I didn't know. I didn't see the signs."

"The signs . . . " Jess said, hardly recognizing his voice.

"Leslie's signs. That awful shit was happening. Jess, I didn't know."

Jess was frantically trying to put two and two together. "Your baby's father's brother is Leslie's molester," he said finally.

"Yes."

Jess realized he had been holding his breath. He let it out in a big sigh.

And without warning, a terrible thought occurred to him. "Is . . . wait, Brenda . . . is Brett the . . . the same way? The same way as Trent?"

"Not to me," Brenda said quietly. "But there have been rumors. Not me, other girls. I don't know what to believe. But all I know is that one night when we were all at Megan York's party he took full advantage of the fact that I was drunk."

Jess gazed at his sister in utter horror.

"I'm sorry."

If Jess hadn't seen her lips form the words and heard them in the tone of her voice, Jess would have never believed Brenda spoke them.

"I'm sorry, too," was all he could think of to say.

Brenda shrugged. Jess pulled in another breath.

"You still helped us, even if we lost," he said absently.

"I'm a bitch," Brenda said calmly. "I deserve to lose things that I love. Not Leslie. Not even you, I guess."

"You're not a bitch," Jess said automatically.

"Yes, I am," Brenda said, and to Jess's astonishment, he saw her smile briefly. "But Mom says that can change. And I just figured today that . . . well, maybe . . . maybe it wasn't such a bad place to start."

She stood up -- with some difficulty -- and Jess looked up at her with incredulity sweeping through his mind. His throat felt tight

"But . . . " he said helplessly, "why?"

Brenda gazed down at him through solemn eyes, the faintest trace of a smile rising on her whole face as she replied, "Because I'm your older sister."

And she left him sitting on the porch step, walking carefully back towards the house and opening the screen door softly, leaving Jess to stare after her numbly.

After what seemed like days, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Thank you," he said aloud. And he knew that she had ignored his words, but long before Brenda had disappeared back into the house, he realized that she didn't need to hear them.

OOO

**

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There was another part to this chapter -- the trial --- but I cut it out because it was just too long and you guys needed an update. :D**

**The end of my high school career is approaching and I've been so busy that this story was put on hold, so thank you for your understanding! The end of this story is also near, so thank you SO MUCH as always for being the faithful readers and reviewers you are. You mean so much to me.**

**P.S. When the final chapter of this story is posted, I have a oneshot gift fic for all of you who have faithfully followed this story. :D I look forward to sharing it with you!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I figured the only way to make up for the shortness of the last chapter was to make this one as long as I possibly could. :) So . . . enjoy!**

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Valentine's Day brought a hostile wind and an ugly gray sky to Lark Creek - both of which matched Jess's mood perfectly. When he awoke early that morning, groggy and discombobulated, it took him a moment to remember why his stomach felt like it had been tied in a knot, but upon digging a little deeper into his thoughts, he bolted upright, a fresh wave of anxiety crashing over him.

"_Is there going to be a trial_ . . . ?"

"_On Valentine's Day . . . can you imagine_ . . . ?"

Jess shut his eyes briefly, begging his thoughts to stay collected for the sake of his sanity, then he quietly out of bed. It was only a little past six, but Jess snuck past his sleeping sisters in his pajamas anyway, hoping that his moving body would cancel out the movement of his insides that kept squirming.

Shutting the bedroom door behind him, he crept down the hall to walk down the stairs and, without warning, found himself face to face with Ellie.

"Watch it!" they yelped at the same time, jumping back a little. Ellie blinked and said, "Oh, it's you."

"What's that for?" Jess demanded as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes, pointing to the roll of paper towels Ellie grasped in one hand and a glass of water she held in the other.

"Brenda," his sister said simply. "You can help if you want, Mom and Dad are still asleep."

Jess blinked, confused, as Ellie pushed past him and walked over to the bathroom she and Brenda shared. The light was on. The nerves in Jess's stomach were starting to spread to his chest, his legs, his arms; his mind had gone numb, which was the only explanation he could think of for his feet that had started moving in the direction of the bathroom, following Ellie into the little room where Brenda was kneeling in front of the toilet.

His eldest sister's face was white and her forehead shone with sweat.

"Goddamn it, isn't morning sickness supposed to be over by month four?" she groaned as Ellie wet a few of the paper towels under the sink and pressed them to Brenda's face.

"Shut up before you wake up the whole house," said Ellie with a sweet smile. "Jess, if you're gonna stand there, hand me that water."

Jess did as he was told. His legs wobbled a bit and he lifted himself up so he could sit on the counter.

"Can I do anything else?" he asked as Brenda drank from the cup only to spit it back up.

"Nah, she'll stop spewing soon enough," Ellie said cheerfully. "Usually I just stick it out, you know, for moral support."

"I hate you," moaned Brenda directly before she threw up again into the toilet. Jess closed the bathroom door with his foot and hopped off the counter to open the window. Ellie pressed a new batch of paper towels to Brenda's forehead, pulling her dark hair back out of the way.

"Better here than in Leslie's place," she said with a small shrug. She looked at Jess quickly. "I mean, well . . . you know. It'll be over soon, right?"

Jess looked at Ellie. It occurred to him that whenever he could find no words to explain his shock, all he seemed to be able to do was stare.

"Okay," Brenda said a few minutes later, gasping, and she reached for the water cup. "I think it's done."

"Good, I have puke on my finger," Ellie said. She leaned over to the sink to scrub her hands, so Jess stepped forward and put the paper towels on Brenda's face instead, dampening her hot skin as gently as possible. Brenda shot him a weary glance before the look in her eyes melted into one of gratefulness.

"Well, who's up for some bacon and eggs?" Jess asked jokingly and recoiled when Brenda's face screwed up and she put a hand over her mouth. "No, no, no, don't think of that! Think of, uh, meadows and steams and stuff . . . no, you're sitting in a field of flowers where there is no food to be seen . . . ."

Ellie burst into laughter at the sink, and Brenda gave a weak chuckle as she leaned away from the toilet and sat down properly on the bathroom floor. Jess crumbled the wet paper towels into a ball and threw them at Ellie. To her credit she didn't shriek, only picked them up and threw them back, still snorting.

"I've come to a conclusion," Brenda announced half an hour later, as Ellie and Jess, all fully dressed, supported her on their way downstairs. "When this kid is born, he or she's gonna get a detailed analysis of what exactly I had to go through for nine months. It'll be so ashamed that it will be the best child known to man."

"_It_?" Ellie asked, chortling.

"Mom must have failed to have that talk with all of us," Jess said and his sisters laughed as the three of them walked into the kitchen together.

Nancy came down to cook breakfast not too long afterwards and the rest of the family trickled into the kitchen while Jess's nerves began to heighten again. He could eat nothing, could only think of what the day ahead of him would unleash while every member of his family pretended to be interested in his or her food as well, as though they all were not anticipating the trial that Jess had secretly been dreading more than Terabithia's.

Judy came rushing through the kitchen door as the seven of them attempted to go about their routines. Nancy was dishing up scrambled eggs at the stove while Ellie was refilling her glass of orange juice, and they turned at the slam of the door as the rest of the family looked up from the table.

"Oh," Judy said, out of breath, as she closed the door behind her, "I'm so sorry to interrupt—"

"Not at all, not at all," Nancy said quickly as Jack pulled out a chair for her. "Is everything alright over there?"

"Wha—? Oh, yes, everything fine, just chaotic," Judy said, attempting to smile as she sat down, running her fingers through her hair. She was in jeans and a sweater, clearly not what she intended to wear to court. "You know, we've just got the lawyers running around making sure they have their material and we're all trying to get ready . . . and apparently there's been a problem with our limo schedule and we're not sure what's going on—"

"It's just all pre-trial dilemmas," Jack said as Ellie sat back down and Joyce Ann whispered, "They get a limo?"

"Absolutely, it'll all work out," Nancy said encouragingly.

"And I can call up my workers and they'll give you all rides if it comes to that," Jack added.

"Thank you, Jack, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure they'll get it solved," replied Judy gratefully. Up close, she looked fatigued. "The thing is Leslie said she was taking a walk an hour ago and we haven't seen her since . . . which isn't good because they all want to review their facts . . . I kind of hoped she would be over here . . . "

"She's at the forest," Jess said automatically and all eyes turned to him. "By the creek? I'm sure that's where she went."

"Is she okay?" May Belle interrupted, looking anxious. The room got quiet as Judy sighed.

"Well, she's nervous," she answered softly, "but I talked to her for a while this morning and I think she's going to be okay. Down by the creek, you said, Jess?"

"Yeah, I'll go get her," Jess answered, getting up rapidly and grabbing a piece of toast. Brenda glanced up at him.

"I hope she isn't looking at all that construction," she mentioned. "That won't make her any calmer."

"You're a lifesaver, Jess. Hey, at least she knows that she'll win this trial," Judy said, and Ellie offered her a plate of food. "Thank you, honey, this looks delicious. Do you all have your passes, Nancy?"

Nancy patted the kitchen counter where four slips of paper lay. "Right here."

"Why can't May Belle and I come to the trial?" Joyce Ann demanded as Jess hurriedly threw on his coat and shoes. "Why do we have to stay with Ellie?"

"Honey, this is a criminal trial, not a civil one at all. Your father and I don't want you to—" Nancy was saying as Jess rushed out the door. The frosty air seemed to enhance his nerves rather than freeze them as he walked down the driveway to the dirt road. He saw two Audi cars and a Mercedes sitting in the driveway next to Bill's BMW and Judy's Lexus, and his anxiety deepened as he realized that the lawyers were indeed over at the Burke household, that this was not a nightmare after all, but reality.

He walked. The air was cold and bitterly stung his face but after a while he hardly noticed for lack of concentration. Absentmindedly he trotted along the dirt road, looking around him at the grass and bushes and bare trees on all sides of him, occasionally glancing upwards to study the grey sky. He only broke his steady pace to pick out a few of the wild flowers that had grown through the winter frost and were waving slightly to him from the sides of the road.

He walked through the farmland as he arranged the yellow and violet and red flowers together and twisted the stems slightly. As he passed the huge billboard that had been hammered into the ground at the edge of the forest, he forced himself to close his eyes briefly.

It's not important now, he attempted to tell himself, and he set his mind to looking for Leslie.

Sure enough, within a moment or two, he caught sight of Leslie's golden hair whipping around slightly in the mild breeze at the edge of the creek. PT was beside her, lying with his head on her knee. When the terrier turned around to see Jess, his tail started wagging frantically and Leslie jumped as he barked in greeting. She turned and saw him walking toward her.

"Well, I figured if anyone was going to find me it'd be you," she said abruptly, squinting up at him. To Jess's astonishment, she was smiling slightly. "Everybody freaked out yet?"

"No, Judy's a bit stressed though. I think the limo schedule got screwed up or something," Jess said and he immediately regretted the words; Leslie's smile faded. "But I'm sure everything's fine," he added hastily as he sat down next to her.

Leslie sighed and put a hand to her forehead.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Jess said, kissing her cheek lightly and holding out the bouquet to her.

Leslie turned to him with overwhelmed eyes, taking the flowers with a small smile. "Oh, Jess," she whispered. "I forgot."

"You have every reason for that," said Jess, holding his arms out for her. She leaned into them almost at once. "You okay?"

Leslie shrugged, staring out at the quietly moving river and the forest that lay beyond it. Jess followed her gaze. During the three weeks or so between Terabithia's trial and Leslie's, Miranda's Outfitting! had pulled out all the stops. The trees had been splashed in horrid red and orange and white colors, the dirt had been re-staked and spray painted until Jess could hardly tell one clearing from another. There were cigarette ends scattered everywhere, and bits of plastic and trash tumbling around over the new colors of the dirt - all courtesy of the workers who were there almost every day. No one was around since it was Valentine's Day, but the echos of the workers' presence were everywhere Jess looked.

"I figured you'd be here," he said, to fill the silence.

Leslie closed her eyes. Jess played with her hair absently until she reached up to intertwine her fingers with his.

"Are you nervous?" Jess asked quietly.

Leslie took a breath. "No," she said, still gazing at what remained of Terabithia's beauty.

Jess was surprised. "I'm glad," was all he said.

They were quiet. The wind made the trees' branches shiver.

"I was just thinking," Leslie said softly, still staring straight ahead across the creek at the forest, "about that day, all those years ago. When the rope broke."

"Is that making this any easier?" Jess asked in amazement.

"Surprisingly, yes," Leslie answered, and a smile broke across her face. It flooded Jess's heart with emotion, seeing her at ease like she had been months ago. "I just remember . . . when I was drowning in that river . . . when I couldn't breathe and thought I was going to die, I had this thought in the back in my mind that maybe the darkness would go away soon, you know? Like maybe everything was going to get brighter."

Jess said nothing. Leslie had a true smile on her face now.

"And you jumped in after me and got me out and . . . and got me back home, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Jess murmured softly, and Leslie nestled closer to him, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"I just keep thinking of that feeling more than anything else. The idea that maybe everything would be okay in the end. And that river . . . me being in that river, anyway, that's how I feel now, I guess. I was drowning. I thought I was going to die. But now I think that maybe, maybe I won't be in the darkness much longer."

Suddenly Jess felt his eyes sting with the threat of tears. He closed them quickly and rested his chin on the top of Leslie's head.

"They might have taken down our bridge and spray painted our land," Leslie said, her voice rising slightly, "but I can still see the sign that used to hang there, right there. Nothing crushes us, Jess. Nothing."

Jess pressed his lips to her hair. "No one," he said, voice husky, "could have said it better."

"The lawyers could have," Leslie said, and suddenly she burst out laughing. "God, they're amazing. Truly, they're all gearing up back there like they're prepping for freaking war. It's fantastic. And I thought I could write. You should see their material. Well, you're going to hear it, but still."

Jess was grinning for the first time in days. Hearing Leslie laugh did more to calm his nerves than anything else in the world could have. "So you know everything you're going to say?"

Leslie snorted. "As opposed to last time, where I winged everything I said on that podium? The lawyers and I have outlined everything to the last syllable. They have their roles, I have mine. It's going to be one good show, I think. Not like last time, though, when I got to bitch out the entire town."

Jess laughed suddenly and threw his hands to the sky. God, did it feel good to laugh. "O great spirits, protect the world from the wrath of Queen Leslie, fearless destroyer of towns and outlines. . . "

"Your royal highness," Leslie said, pointing a stick at him with authority, "are you mocking Terabithia's queen?"

"Maybe," Jess said mischievously.

Leslie tacked him. She threw her hands to his shoulders with such force Jess was taken completely aback. He toppled backwards and his queen landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground almost before he could think.

PT jumped up and barked frantically as Jess fought back laughter.

"Does the king dare to mock his queen?"

"Yes, he does," Jess answered.

"Then he is to receive punishment," Leslie said, lowering her head so that Jess felt her warm breath on his neck.

"Oh?" Jess asked, wrapping his arms around the waist of the girl on top of him, trying not to seem too eager, "and what might that be?"

Leslie brushed her lips against the softness of the skin under Jess's ear.

"Torture," she breathed wickedly, and Jess shivered, bringing his hands up over her back and shoulder blades to cup her neck in his palms. Leslie sighed softly as he planted countless kisses in her hair, his skin tingling as Leslie's small hands gently caressed his shoulders.

"Torture me, then," Jess challenged, dizzy with ardor, and Leslie, eyes alight, raised her head and rested her lips on his, kissing him more fiercely than she ever had before, her as Jess responded hungrily . . . he could hardly breathe, he was unaware of hardly anything except for the beating of both of their hearts as their kisses deepened . . . .

P.T., who had been barking nonstop, suddenly moved so close to them they could feel his breath in their faces as he screamed directly at them. They broke apart and Leslie grumbled something that Jess could not hear over the dog's racket. They stopped to look at their prince. When Leslie raised herself up a few inches off of Jess, P.T. backed up slightly, his barking melting into low growls.

"Stupid dog," both she and Jess said at the same time, and they looked at each other and smiled before Leslie bent down to press her lips against his briefly. P.T. yelped before she could move away.

"We'll continue this when the royal prince is put to bed," Leslie declared.

"We will?" Jess said, startled.

Leslie pushed herself off of him and pulled herself upward to a sitting position. Jess was not nearly ready for her to let him up, but he rightened himself, too.

"When the trial's over," Leslie said as they both brushed bits of grass from their clothing, "we'll come back here."

Jess mentally shook himself and looked over at her. His heart was still pounding, his mind still a blissful haze. But something deeper was awakening in his head, too.

"I guess we'll have to see, right?" he asked gently.

Leslie blinked. The light in her eyes dimmed a little bit.

"Yeah, I guess we'll see. After the trial."

"After the trial," Jess repeated. They sat in a very full silence for a minute or two, then Jess stood up and offered his hand to his queen, who took it gladly. As soon as she had stood up, Jess could not resist. He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her again, ignoring P.T.'s fresh round of protests and feeling only her lips as she kissed him back . . . hearing only the screeches of a nearby truck that was slowly growing in volume . . .

A truck?

As the two of them broke apart yet again, Jess realized P.T. wasn't barking at them this time, he was howling at an orange truck that had been pealing down the road through the farmland, the radio positively screeching along with the brakes as the truck came to an abrupt halt just outside the start of the trees. PT yowled and he charged at the arriver; Jess caught him and scooped him up as he and Leslie hurriedly walked towards the edge of the forest.

"Reinforcements?" Jess said in utter confusion.

Leslie opened her mouth to answer, but stopped short as they broke through the trees into the open land, and a man heaved himself out of the orange truck. He stopped and looked at them, confusion in every feature of his face.

"Well, hi there," he grunted. A lighted cigarette was sticking out of the corner of his mouth. "There a reason you're up 'ere where you shou'n't be?"

Jess felt it for good then, felt it in the air as Leslie's mouth opened and her eyes snapped with irritation. He felt the energy he had missed, the energy he had once lived off of coming from Leslie's previously broken spirit and his heart absolutely soared the moment Leslie began to talk.

"I might ask you the same thing," she snapped and suddenly, short as she was, she seemed much taller. "I was under the impression that holidays were breaks for you workers."

The man squinted at her, frowning.

"Th' boss told me to get on up 'ere and make sure you kids wasn't doing anything," he said. "Looks like it was a good thing I came."

"We lost the trial," Leslie growled. "Why would _we_ break the law?"

"Run along now, kids, I've got work to do," snapped the worker, taking a long drag on his cigarette and blowing the smoky air definitely in their faces. Leslie seized Jess's free hand and began to march away, P.T. yapping at the man one last time and Jess looking back to see the worker holding his cigarette and studying the forest as the two of them hurried back down the dirt road, both of them coughing from the smoke.

They were halfway to their houses when suddenly, unexplainably, P.T. started to struggle madly in Jess's arms. When he wasn't let down at first, the little white and brown terrier began to yowl so ferociously that Jess and Leslie stopped walking and studied him.

"Easy, boy, it's okay - " Leslie murmured, trying to pat his head.

"Stop - scratching - okay, okay, here . . . "

Jess set him on the ground, or rather, he bent over in order to drop him on the dirt road as P.T. leapt from his arms. Leslie had time to say, "P.T., what . . . ?" before the dog was gone, sprinting toward the forest as though his life depended on it, little legs a blur as he ran right back down the road.

"P.T.!" they both yelled, and Jess started to jog back to Terabithia, Leslie right at his side. "P.T.! Come back!"

"What's gotten into him?" Leslie said in astonishment.

P.T. halted. He looked back at him, ears cocked, tongue lolling, and turned back to the forest. Though he was several hundred feet away, Jess could hear him whimpering.

"He wants to go back," Jess said, dumbfounded. Their dog had always followed them whenever they headed back home.

"Well, who can blame him?" Leslie said. But she added, "P.T., come on, we'll go back later, we have to go now . . . "

But P.T. didn't move. They called him again and again; when Jess or Leslie took a few steps forward in the hopes of enforcing their authority, the dog turned and ran toward the forest once more, farther away from them, stopping to look back and see whether or not they were following. When he saw they weren't each time, he waited impatiently, refusing to come to them.

"P.T., we don't have time for this!" Jess called desperately and Leslie added, "We have to go now!"

P.T. whimpered again. Beside him, Leslie shook her head.

"You don't think he feels neglected, do you?" she asked Jess, bewilderment in her voice. "You think that maybe . . . maybe with all that's been going on . . . he hasn't been getting enough attention, and now . . . ?"

But for the first time in as long as Jess could possibly remember, he saw something that Leslie did not. Even though P.T. had been their truest friend and the keeper of their greatest secret for more than six years, the dog did not, could not, understand everything about the trials - both figurative and literal - that Jess and Leslie had faced recently. Jess realized that perhaps P.T. had finally sensed the changes that had been taking place. While Jess and Leslie had known all along that Terabithia's destiny was changing in harmony with theirs, while they had accepted it . . . P.T. had not.

"He knows," Jess said aloud.

"What?" Leslie said distractedly, looking at him.

Jess fixed his eyes on their dog. Sadness gripped at his heart.

"Okay, boy," he called, and P.T.'s ears perked up again at the sympathy in his tone. "You go protect the forest. You go watch over it for us until we get back, okay? Protect it while you still can."

PT barked in response and turned, running at the forest once more until his little white and brown form was out of sight. This time, he didn't look back.

Leslie was dead silent beside Jess. It wasn't until Jess gently took her hand and began to walk down the dirt road, opposite of P.T., that she moved at all, falling into step beside him silently, a look of understanding dawning on her face.

And so they returned to their houses where both families were waiting for them anxiously, but for the first time in their lives, their little dog did not trot along beside them.

O O O

Bill and Judy Burke were rather well known throughout the town. As both were accomplished authors that frequently met with other famous writers and political activists, their existence was no secret and therefore, neither was their dilemma - so when the time came for police escorts to push people back from Lark Creek's courthouse's exterior so that the family could enter through its main doors with their attorneys, there was quite a crowd to control.

Jack, Nancy, Brenda, and Jess waited quietly to be let in with the rest of the people who were permitted to watch the trial in the courtroom. They and the rest of the onlookers holding court passes were huddled near the glass doors and were able to observe everything from the five or six officers keeping them separated from the crowd to the interviewers, television reporters, journalists, and "friends" that were hoarding every person involved in the trial in the same fashion starving dogs fought one another for meat. The noise was not unlike what Jess had been exposed to on his first day of his sophomore year of high school; people were yelling and shouting as they pushed one another to get a better view of everyone being escorted into the courthouse; reporters were broadcasting live in front of the horde of people with mikes held firmly in their hands as they looked directly at various cameras scattered around within five hundred feet of the huge marble building; photographers lit up the scene as they clicked away at their cameras and bellowed orders at the crowd.

As he watched the Burkes walk through the madness with their crew of lawyers and surrounded by police escorts, Jess briefly remembered the day Leslie had brought him to her house for the first time all those years ago, where he had been so startled by how nice their house was and money had been, seemingly, not an issue. That same awe-stricken feeling flooded back to him as he saw Bill, Judy, and Leslie walking with their heads thrown back, eyes focused straight ahead, walking in a regal, haunted way, as though they owned the world and they didn't care that people knew it. Their presence, so much like that of royalty, was utterly breathtaking in comparison to the loud, pushy mass of people that screamed questions and roared assumptions and pointed mikes in their directions hopefully. Not one of them said a word, they kept walking as though no one was there, though Bill had his arms around his wife and daughter protectively.

"Leslie looks really pretty," Brenda said in a low tone, and while Nancy and Jack forced themselves to smile, Jess was still utterly anxious as more and more people added to the chaos by jumping around and trying to get the family to talk. Leslie never flinched, never acknowledged the crowd's existence, only moved closer to her father as her party kept gliding in the same calm manner and hoards of men and women kept demanding and bellowing. The nerves had flooded to Jess's whole body now, and cold as the day was, his face felt hot and his hands were shaking very slightly, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride for his queen.

When the Burkes, the lawyers, and various jury members were inside, several more police officers came through the crowd once more, this time surrounding a woman with dark hand and a strong jawline, three men in business suits, and . . . Jess's stomach dropped . . . Trent. Before he could get a good look at him, however, Trent and his parents and lawyer had been engulfed in the crowd and the noise and were inside, but not before a large woman in front of Jess moved so he could see Trent again, and also another identical looking older man who sauntered behind Trent and the police officer who held onto Trent's arm.

Brenda squeaked beside Jess, her hands flying to her mouth as Trent's party finally vanished inside. Jack reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, eyes narrowed to slits.

"Onlookers! Please show your passes to the marshal as you enter the building, turn off all cell phones and be aware that food and drink is not permitted inside. . . have your driver's licenses at the ready if applicable and follow the officers directly into the courtroom . . . !"

The smaller, much tamer crowd made up of those who had passes began to move toward the entrance. The rest of the people started to direct the attention at them, screaming for answers to their questions and pointing microphones at them like they were guns.

Do you know that I'm her boyfriend? Jess wanted to ask every one of them as the marshal studied the four passes Jack held out to him. Do you know that I was the first one she told? Do you know that she kissed me this morning before any of this started?

"Let's go, Jess," his mother said gently and Jess's mind jumped back to reality. He and Nancy walked behind Jack, who had his arm around Brenda, all of them looking around as they walked with the crowd through the great room and several hallways before finally entering the courtroom.

It was huge, much larger than the courtroom Terabithia's hearing had been in. Past the several rows of wooden benches for the onlookers were seats and tables for the defendants and prosecutors. On the sides were seats for the jury, and at the front lay the judge's great podium and chair. To the left of the judge was the lower, smaller place where the defendants and prosecutors sat to testify.

When he had entered the row in the gallery where he was to sit with his family, Jess was able to look around a little more and when he did, he saw Trent sitting at the front of the courtroom at the desk on the left side of the room, his lawyer and a police officer beside him. He looked terrible. Three weeks had not completely cured him of his swollen lip, black eye, broken wrist, and various other bruises Jess had been able to deliver unto him. He felt a twinge of satisfaction as Trent caught his eye and gave him one look of loathing - a look Jess returned - before Trent looked pointedly away.

"Damn, Jess," Brenda muttered in his ear, and Jess smirked. His father shot him a look.

"Don't be so proud of yourself, boy," Jack told him. "I should have grounded you for a month for your idiocy." But he was smiling.

The four of them took their seats and Nancy put her coat and purse down beside her to save places for Bill and Judy. The onlookers sat down around them, chattering quietly. The rest of the jury entered the room and took their seats just as Bill and Judy came hurrying through the aisle and made their way to where the Aarons family sat. As they moved through other seated onlookers and took their places beside them, Jess saw that Judy's eyes were red.

"She's so brave," she whimpered quietly as Nancy immediately took her hand, "my God, my baby . . . she's just ready to take this whole thing on . . . "

Jess forced himself to look to the front of the courtroom, his heart drumming against his chest uncontrollably. Brenda shifted in her chair beside him.

"It's not like she can lose," she said very quietly, almost to herself. "That asshole's gonna be in jail before the day ends, I bet."

Jack leaned his head forward to look across Jess and address her. "Juvenile," he said. "The kid's underage. This may be serious enough for another option, however."

Brenda nodded in agreement and stared ahead at the judge's seat at the front. Jess said nothing, only twisted his fingers anxiously in his lap. Jack eyed him for a brief moment.

"Son," he said, in an undertone that only Jess could hear, "have faith in her. If there is anyone who can land that boy in a place he needs to be, it's your Leslie."

Jess glanced at his father. Somehow, someway, he thought back to last summer when he had helped Jack saw trees for firewood, the time Jack had shown his respect for the girl who had taught him, Jess, so much.

He attempted a smile, unable to speak, and Jack clasped him on the shoulder briefly.

Within another minute or two, Leslie entered the courtroom from a door beside the jury's seats. The Burke's lawyers followed her and one of them, a tall African American woman with a kind face, led the way to the table on the right. They all took their seats, but not before Jess saw Leslie shoot the left side of the room a look of upmost loathing, determination etched in every feature of her beautiful face. Jess's heartbeat evened out slightly and his skin stopped tingling.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Robert Smith!" came a shout from the front of the courtroom a moment or two later. There was a scuffling as people hurriedly scrambled to their feet, and Jess saw a man in long black robes enter the courtroom and take his place behind his podium. He began to say words but Jess couldn't listen to them. He saw everyone sitting down and he did the same.

The opening statements begun. Not one of the onlookers breathed as the charges were read and both the prosecutors and the defendants sat silently, lawyers on both sides already beginning to take notes. And as Leslie's case was made to the judge, Jess couldn't help but notice a few members of the jury starting to whisper, a few of the onlookers starting to look at one another with horror and sympathy on their faces.

_It's not like she can lose_, he thought, reminding himself of Brenda's words, and Jack, as though he knew what his son was thinking, put his hand on Jess's shoulder again for a fleeting moment.

By the time the presentation of evidence was required, by the time the judge and various court members had outlined the trial that would determine Trent's sentence, Jess's anxiety had completely vanished. As he heard Leslie's name called by the judge and as he saw his queen rise gracefully from her seat and walk across the room as though she owned it, he realized that she had been right all along. She had declared the simple words, "We fight," so long ago, and they had. She had told him that nothing crushed them, and nothing did. When an enemy had ventured onto their territory, when push came to shove so that the sake of everything of importance was at risk, Jess realized that nothing had held them back from taking action.

And as Leslie threw her head back and surveyed the officer in front of her unblinkingly, one hand on the Bible and the other held in the air, Jess understood in an instant that this fight was over. Despite the battles she had already endured and faltered through, Leslie, his Leslie, though she had not yet spoken, had already won.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

Leslie's eyes were on fire.

"I do."

"Please be seated."

OOO

In the weeks that were to follow Leslie's trial, Jess would not be able to look back upon it and remember everything. Details would brush upon his mind like the paint stokes he so often made in his sketch book, memorable moments would come to mind whenever he saw something that reminded him of Valentine's Day . . . but with all of the activity that happened that day, Jess would only truly recall the fifteen minutes or so Leslie gave evidence.

There was nothing like it in the world . . . nothing like the pride and admiration and utter love he felt as Leslie sat calmly and surely in her chair, chin raised and eyes snapping she talked her way through delicate questions aimed her way by the lawyers. Judy flinched every so often during the rough parts, holding Bill's hand tightly in one hand and Nancy's in the other, biting her lip so that her mouth was completely white. The onlookers didn't help; they clucked their tongues at some points and looked at one another incredulously as Leslie talked on, unblinking, unwavering, as the lawyers cleverly spun her evidence into a web of harsh truths Trent's lawyers would have trouble countering. People gasped, whispered, shook their heads . . . Jess just sat in awe.

As was predicted, the defendant's statement was brief and pointless. While the onlookers and the jury looked between Leslie and Trent, Jess got the feeling that the entire courtroom was simply waiting for Trent's lawyer to stop talking so they could pass jurisdiction. They wanted to give it, but Jess didn't need to hear it. He, like everyone else in the courtroom, already knew who would be walking away as the winner.

By the time the Aarons and the Burkes were outside, waiting for Leslie and the lawyers to emerge, not one person among their party was concerned as far as the verdict went, though Judy and Nancy were both in tears. The lawyers brought Leslie to them after half an hour of waiting, exchanged some brief words with the Burkes, then quietly left in the limo that would take them to their cars.

Leslie, a small and weary smile on her face, accepted hugs from each member of both families. She and Brenda looked at one another briefly, both of them hesitating as they hovered near one another. Jess was not the only one who watched the two of them anxiously.

"You kicked ass," his sister finally said. Leslie's face broke into a smile almost before anyone could react, both girls were hugging and laughing, talking all at once as though they had only recently been introduced properly.

"You look beautiful," were Leslie's first words and Brenda immediately waved off her words. "Has anyone told you that lately - ?"

"Me? I'm just a fat cow, you look amazing in that dress, really - "

"Please, you're not fat, you could borrow this less than a year from now - "

Nancy and Judy were beaming and wiping their eyes, and Jack and Bill looked at one another with astonishment. Jess couldn't stop smiling.

"All right, listen, let's start walking to the cars, I'd like to get out of here before the press realizes we're over here," Bill said as he started herding everyone to the parking lot. Judy nodded.

"Yes, and you guys are welcome to ride back with us, we can get the truck later on if you'd like, we've both got to come back here later tonight - "

Leslie had been gently withdrawing herself from Brenda and everybody's words of praise all together . . . and finally, finally, she was all Jess's. Wordlessly he held his arms to her and wordlessly she hurried into them, her face glowing with happiness as he discreetly kissed her hair and their two families launched into smiles and laughter and conversation as though they had not been allowed to properly show contentment before the trial.

Jess and Leslie just stood silently, Leslie with her head resting right at Jess's shoulder, both of them allowing their thoughts to mix and their emotions to reveal themselves in the silence they both shared. Heart so full he thought it might burst, Jess hardly heard the plans their parents and Brenda were making, registered nothing but the steady beat of Leslie's heart against his chest and the overwhelming honor he was feeling at the thought that Leslie had sought him for refuge after her battle . . .

" . . . might as well, so we'll just drive together, then . . . "

"Sounds good!"

"And we can whip up a meal in instants, you know that, I think we could all have a late lunch beforehand . . . "

" . . . that sound all right to you two lovebirds?"

"They're not even listening," Jess heard Brenda say smugly. "Look at them. You'd think that they're living in another world or something."

OOO

The drive back to their houses was very different than the drive that had occurred after the last trial Jess had attended. Everyone chatted and rested comfortably in the small limo Bill and Judy had rented for the day's use. Bill was at the wheel and while he joined in the conversation merrily for most of the ride, he was frowning at the sky by the time they were nearly home.

"Good Lord, we may get some rain," he mentioned, interrupting a story Judy was telling, and everyone looked up at the clouds through the windows. The sky was indeed much darker than it had been that morning.

"Huh," Nancy said uncertainly. "Those are some fast moving clouds."

"They're really thin little clouds, to be moving that fast . . . " Brenda murmured, brow furrowed.

Everyone was silent as Bill turned the limo onto the dirt road that would eventually bring them to the crossroads between their houses, and the sky was as dark as ever, particularly in the space directly ahead of them . . . .

"Bill, you don't see anything up front, do you?" Jack asked uncertainly and as Bill opened his mouth to answer, the limo swerved around a bend.

Nancy let out a cry.

"Dear God in heaven," Judy gasped, and everlasting horror exploded in Jess's heart.

Smoke.

Thick, black, massive amounts of smoke were billowing upwards directly ahead of them. As the limo stopped dead on the dirt road and as horror froze them to their seats, Jess saw that the horizon before them seemed to have melted into a fiery wall that was unleashing globs of unholy smoke that took to the sky and wafted towards them, even though it was a mile away . . . behind the farmland, Strellgate's farmland . . . .

"_No_!" screamed Leslie and pandemonium erupted. Everyone launched his or herself from the limo within instants and began to yell instructions . . . Jack and Nancy started sprinting down the road to where Jess could see Ellie, May Belle, and Joyce Ann halfway to them already, having sprinted from the wooden farmhouse, clutching bags in their hands . . .

Leslie launched herself in the direction of the flames. Jess charged for her but Bill got to her first. He caught her and held her back as she fought against him, screaming.

"P.T.!" she cried again and again, "P.T.'s down there!"

Jess's stomach lurched. Judy was running for the Burke's front door, already yelling, for the dog in hopes of the terrier being nearby . . . the rest of the Aarons sisters reached the limo and Brenda started grabbing the backpacks Ellie and May Belle and Joyce Ann had apparently managed to pack and putting them in the seats and Bill looked at Jess for a brief instant, his eyes piercing right through Jess's as he let go of Leslie to run after Judy, and Jess, despair spreading through him, immediately took hold of Leslie as she continued to fight, sobbing.

"Into the limo - " Nancy was panting beside them as Ellie and Brenda herded the younger girls into the car and as Jess spotted Jack sprinting down the road toward their home. The smoke was getting thicker, the fire was spreading quickly, and within instants he could no longer see his father.

Jess could control his terror no longer. "Dad!" he yelled out. "Dad, come back!"

"He's going to get some things, you both get in the limo, now - " Nancy was saying, squinting as she looked for Judy and Bill.

It was getting harder to see . . . the temperature was rising fast . . .

"Hurry, hurry, get in the car . . . we're going to be all right - "

"P.T.!" cried Leslie, tears running down her face, "P.T. . . . he's down there - "

Bill and Nancy were sprinting from their home again, Jess could faintly see Bill charging across the road to the Aarons' home where Jack was emerging, throwing hastily packed bags over his shoulder. The three of them ran back down the road as the roar of the flames in the distance grew louder.

Leslie turned to Jess, eyes wild.

"_P.T_.!" she sobbed as the rest of their parents reached them. "Where is he . . . where is he . . . ?"

"Into the limo!"

"But Mom - "

"The dog will be fine, he'll find shelter!"

"But P.T. - "

"Son, get in, hurry - "

Jess, heart aching, made sure his sisters and Leslie were in the limo before he turned to look at a flaming, burning Terabithia one last time . . . he climbed into the limo as Bill and Jack ran for the front seats and Nancy and Judy hurried after in him as the smoke continued to billow upwards like the winds of death, and the sound of sirens began to fill the air.

**

* * *

I apologize for the cliff-hanger here, but I have the next chapter planned out so you all shouldn't have to wait too long. And I'm sorry for, well, you know.**

**I skipped Leslie's preliminary trial that is custom to criminal proceedings, I hope you guys don't mind. I just didn't think it was necessary to include in the story.**

**And if anyone can correctly point out the HUGE foreshadowings that have hinted at what happened in the end here, clues that I've placed within the last few chapters (particularly this one), it would make me very happy. :D**

**Thank you in advance for your reviews! I love reviews dearly, just please don't flame me this time around . . . oops, no pun intended . . . .**


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